Teenage Lifeguard Dies During Beach Training

A 14-year-old junior lifeguard taking part in a training exercise died Tuesday morning as she ran along the shore with a group of teenagers, officials said.

Chanan Remington of Brawley collapsed in the water near the Huntington Beach Pier, and several beach-goers tried in vain to revive her, said supervising deputy coroner Rod Thomas. Officials had no indication that the girl suffered from any medical conditions but said an autopsy will be performed today.

The incident occurred before 9:30 a.m. as more than 100 young lifeguards from around the region were finishing a two-mile run, said Chief Steve Seim of Huntington Beach’s Marine Safety Division.

“This girl fell, got back up and collapsed again,” he said. When an instructor went back to help, Remington was lying face down in the surf. After the instructor turned her over, she began gasping for breath, Seim said. Lifeguards performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics arrived minutes later. Remington was taken by ambulance to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, where she was pronounced dead at 10:12 a.m.

Seim said this is the first time a fatality has occurred involving the junior lifeguard program, which has been operating since the mid-1960s. Youths from around the state take part in the summer training.