St. Petersburg, Fla. (970 WFLA) - A Tampa man drowned off Gandy Beach after he fell off an inflatable float Saturday, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said.
Lino Gomez, 23, was on the float with his wife when a tidal current pushed it into a deep channel. When Gomez fell off, his wife, Angela Perez, tried to help him get back in and also fell into the water. She managed to grab the float but lost sight of Gomez as the current swept him farther from shore.
Perez, 20, got back safely to shore and asked a passing boater to search for Gomez. The boater found Gomez floating face down in the water and brought him back to the beach, where a bystander began CPR on him until paramedics arrived.
Gomez died early Sunday at Tampa General Hospital. Neither Gomez nor his wife knew how to swim, according to a news release from PCSO.