Junior Lifeguard Dies on Beach

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

The girl, identified as Chanan Remington of Brawley, collapsed in the water near the Huntington Beach Pier, and efforts to revive her failed, said supervising deputy coroner Rod Thomas.

Officials said they had no indication that the girl suffered from any medical conditions. An autopsy is scheduled today.

The incident occurred before 9:30 a.m. as about 120 young lifeguards from around the region were finishing a two-mile run, according to Chief Steve Seim of Huntington Beach’s Marine Safety Division.

Chanan straggled behind the rest of the group, according to witnesses.

“This was not a race,” Seim said. “This girl fell, got back up and collapsed again.”

When an instructor went back to help, Chanan was lying face down in the surf. After the instructor turned her over, she began gasping for breath, Seim said. Lifeguards performed CPR until paramedics arrived. Chanan was taken by ambulance to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, where she was pronounced dead at 10:12 a.m.

Seim said this is the first time someone has died in the junior lifeguard program, which began in the mid-1960s. Youths from around the state take part in the summer training.

To join the program, sponsored by the city of Huntington Beach, youths must swim 100 yards in less than two minutes, tread water for five minutes and swim underwater for 10 yards, Seim said. The program itself focuses on teaching teens marine safety and lifesaving techniques, such as CPR.

He said the group was in its second day of training, and Chanan had been running with a group of 14- to 17-year-olds.

Officials said they have no indication that heat played a role in Chanan’s death. At that time, temperatures had reached the upper 60s or low 70s.

Daniel Cutler, 15, of Seal Beach had just come in from bodyboarding when he noticed Chanan staggering along the beach.

“It looked to me like she was out of balance, dizzy sort of,” said Daniel.

“I thought she was going into the water to cool off. She was sort of stumbling around. I thought she was just hot or tired.”