Autopsy: Jersey Shore Drowning Victim Suffered Seizure
MANTOLOKING, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Yonkers man suffered an epileptic seizure before drowning off the Jersey shore on the Fourth of July, authorities said.
John Crimmins, 22, was swimming with friends Saturday afternoon when he vanished off the coast of Mantoloking. The swimmer -- the stepson of Yonkers schools Superintendent Michael Yazurlo -- was found in the surf about a half-hour later, authorities said.
Crimmins had a medical condition that caused seizures, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said. The county medical examiner's autopsy determined the cause of death to be drowning with "idiopathic epileptic seizures contributing to the event."
The victim was an avid surfer and a lifeguard, the prosecutor's office noted. None of Crimmins' friends saw him in distress prior to disappearing from their sight, authorities said.
Crimmins went missing around 2:35 p.m. and was found just after 3 p.m. after an extensive search was launched by the U.S. Coast Guard, New Jersey State Police and fire crews from surrounding communities. Rescuers performed CPR. Crimmins was pronounced dead at Ocean Medical Center in Brick.
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