A swimming accident off the Sanibel Causeway over the weekend claimed the life of a 15-year-old Immokalee resident.
According to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office incident report, Robert Anzualda, Jr. had been swimming with family and friends on Saturday afternoon near the causeway’s “C” span before strong currents pulled the boy underneath the waters of San Carlos Bay.
Dep. Jeff Barrack arrived at the scene around 3 p.m., finding Anzualda at the water’s edge not breathing and unresponsive. He immediately began performing CPR on the youngster. Anzualda responded “by expelling water from his mouth and attempting to breathe.”
Barrack continued CPR on Anzualda before being joined by LCSO Marine Units 1 and 2, with Cpl. J. Tolley and Cpl. J. Reagan assisting the rescue effort.
“During CPR, Robert’s breathing was labored and had a faint pulse,” Barrack’s report states, noting that Lee County EMS Medic Units 5 and 15 arrived and took over medical treatment of Anzualda, a student at Collier High School in Naples.
Members of the Sanibel Police Department and Lee County Fire Department also responded to the incident.
Lee County EMS Medic Unit 15 transported Anzualda to HealthPark Medical Center in Fort Myers. The teenager died several hours later at the hospital’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, according to Lee Memorial Health Systems spokeswoman Karen Krieger.
No additional information was available.