Safety by the Seashore

The tragic deaths of a couple who jumped into a churning sea to rescue the woman’s daughter have prompted a needed review of at safety measures along the bluffs of Laguna Beach.

Laguna Beach officials say they are looking at the area of the accident, known as Giggle Crack, and other dangerous spots on the shore of the coastal city.

Of course, the fundamental responsibility for safety in such dangerous areas is with individuals and parents. The sea needs to be respected. Adults must remember the power of waves and the difficulty of getting out of danger when rocks are steep, sharp and slippery.

The Mother’s Day tragedy again demonstrated how quickly what seems like a safe area can become dangerous along the shore, as waves suddenly crash over rocks. Those lessons need to be taught to children as well.

In this instance, Angelica Cuevas and her friend Zackery Kunzler were on a Mother’s Day outing to the beach with Cuevas’ 6-year-old daughter, Brooke. A wave broke across the rock on which the three were standing, knocking the young girl into the water. Cuevas and Kunzler jumped 10 feet into the waves in a desperate attempt to save Brooke.

Witnesses said Kunzler managed to keep Brooke’s head above water until a lifeguard could haul her to safety. Waves battered Kunzler and Cuevas against the rocks, which are too high and slippery to climb easily, until lifeguards pulled them to shore. Kunzler was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital soon after the rescue. Cuevas was hospitalized for several days until her life-support machines were disconnected. Brooke was hospitalized with minor injuries and then released.

Laguna Beach has dozens of lifeguards on duty on summer weekends. But during the winter there are as few as two lifeguards. Blocking access to dangerous areas is questionable as a solution. State law requires that access to the shore be kept available. It would be difficult to decide who determines what parts of California’s hundreds of miles of shoreline are so dangerous that they must be closed.

But signs in areas known for being especially treacherous could help alert beachgoers, especially tourists, to danger. Finally, there is no substitute for extra care and judgment on the part of those who visit our coastline.