Drownings At The Park
The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection began keeping records on drownings at Connecticut state parks in 1996 and since then 13 people have died at Squantz Pond State Park. On Labor Day 2007, an 18-year-old man from Queens, N.Y., became the third drowning victim of 2007 at about 1 p.m. at East Beach, an area that was not protected by lifeguards because the state DEP believed the drowning danger to be lower than other sections of the park.
In June 2008, DEP unveiled several improvements to the park designed to improve the safety of swimmers. The designated beach swimming area was enlarged and clearly marked to make it more attractive to swimmers, and several trees were removed to improve the sight lines of on-duty lifeguards. In addition, a new dock houses a patrol boat.
The other Squantz Pond victims drowned in the areas known as "the Rocks" and the unroped section of "Squantz Cove" that are outside the designated swimming area. These areas also were not protected by lifeguards. "Tree Jump". is a video example of a highly risky maneuver conducted by a park-goer at the Rocks.
In July 2007, DEP Officials made "the Rocks" off limits to beachgoers. In response to the drownings and pressure from local officials, the state announced plans to reduce the parking capacity of the park from about 500 cars to about 250, and to post signs on nearby Interstate 84 announcing if the park has reached capacity. DEP hopes the reduced capacity will help them prevent swimming outside of authorized areas.
Full List of Drowning Victims
• Jun. 16, 1996: Cezar Guzman, 20, Yonkers, N.Y.
• Aug. 27, 1997: Thomas Swords, 33, New Fairfield, C.T.
• Aug. 02, 1998: Adames Tamarez, 26, New York City, N.Y.
• Jul. 13, 1999: Jesus Tapia, 21, Queens, N.Y.
• Jun. 25, 2000: Alex Marte, 24, Queens, N.Y.
• Jul. 13, 2002: Felix Lantigua, 33, Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Sep. 04, 2004: Felipe Mendez, 38, Bronx, N.Y.
• Aug. 28, 2005 Julissa Sierra, 18, Bronx, N.Y.
• Aug. 09, 2006: Michael Rivera, 20, Staten Island, N.Y.
• Aug. 22, 2006: Jesse Nazario, 23, Bronx, N.Y.
• Jul. 10, 2007: Jarvell Ward, 19, Bronx, N.Y.
• Jul. 22, 2007: Celso Tacuri-Rivera, 27, Bridgeport, C.T.
• Sep. 03, 2007: Antonio Gonzalez, 18, Queens, N.Y.
• Sept. 01, 2009: Edward Torres, 8, Bronx, N.Y
• July 24, 2011: Antonio Framco, 21, Albertson, N.Y.
Read more about this topic: Squantz Pond State Park
Famous quotes containing the word park:
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—Frances Burney (1752–1840)