1 drowned, 1 injured after rescuing distressed swimmer

Norfolk police confirm one man died and another was injured after the two rescued a distressed swimmer at East Beach Friday evening.

Emergency dispatchers received a 911 call around 7 p.m. for a distressed swimmer in the water near East Beach Drive and 23rd Bay Street, according to NPD Corporal Melinda Wray. This is in the Ocean View area.

Investigators believe an adult and a teenager were walking on a jetty and both slipped into the water. Neither could swim, but police said the adult, 20-year-old Delvin Carter, was able to push the teenager back onto the jetty.

Carter then went underwater, and another man jumped in to help, but began to struggle in the water. Josh McIntosh, of Norfolk, was on the beach when he saw the man struggling in the water and was able to pull him to shore.

“He was spitting up water through his mouth and nose,” McIntosh said. “We kept talking to him, trying to get him responsive.”

McIntosh said first responders arrived, and when the man was able to talk, he was able to communicate that his friend was still in the water. Police officers, McIntosh, and other bystanders began searching for the second man in the water. McIntosh said paramedics started giving him emergency medical treatment as soon as he was back on the beach, but he had already died.

“I wish I could have got out there sooner,” McIntosh said. “Fortunately, we got one of them. I just wish I could have gotten to the other one a little bit sooner.”

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