Ventura lifeguards rescue pier jumpers from strong ocean current
By: Associated Press | ∞
VENTURA, Calif. -- Lifeguards rescued two men who jumped from a pier into a powerful rip current on a bet and were dragged hundreds of yards away from shore, officials said.
Jonathan Gutowski, 39, of Oxnard and Adolfo Sanchez, 25, of Santa Paula were cited and released Wednesday for investigation of "unsafe activity at a state beach," police Sgt. Jack Richards said.
Police said the pair leaped from the pier over a $100 bet and were pulled more than 300 yards out to sea by the strong current. Details of the bet were not known.
"They put their own lives at risk, and they risked the lives of the lifeguards who went out to rescue them," he said.
The men, who were not injured, could be forced to pay for the cost of the rescue, police said.
The pair jumped despite warnings by the National Weather Service of a high risk of rip currents at Southern California beaches.
A man and woman in Newport Beach were presumed dead after being swept off a jetty there.
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