Posted on 07/30/2018 7:37:28 PM PDT by Freedom'sWorthIt
WRAL News anchors Jeff Hogan and Brad Johansen, both new to North Carolina in the past year, were enjoying Wrightsville Beach with their families Saturday when a freak accident left Hogan hospitalized.
On Monday, Johansen described what happened to his friend.
The surf was rough, and red flags were flying, although dozens of people remained in the water, and lifeguards had not whistled them out.
Hogan, a seasoned triathlete, was body surfing with his daughters when a wave slammed him face down into a sand bar.
Johansen was about a half-mile away when his son ran to tell him his friend had been badly injured. ADVERTISING
Hogan never lost consciousness, Johansen said.
"He said, 'I saw stars. I knew I banged really bad, but I was aware of what was going on around me,'" Johansen said.
Still, Hogan could not move.
Johansen said one of Hogan's daughters pulled him up enough so that he could get a deep breath.
"His daughters really saved his life," Johansen said.
(Excerpt) Read more at wral.com ...
This story is related to others that have been posted about the wicked waters off the NC coast this year.
Related stories about drownings along the NC Coast this year: The waters are really rough. The red flags mean to stay out of the water!!!!
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3672990/posts
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3672679/posts
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3673954/posts
Red flags do not mean to stay out of the water.
I spent last week at Myrtle Beach.
1 red flag = waist deep
2 red flags = knee deep
With the record of drownings this year along the NC Coast, red flags are a warning, either way, that the waters are dangerous.
While in the hospital, maybe he should be tested for color blindness.
https://www.townofwrightsvillebeach.com/157/Rip-Current-Safety
red rough conditions may be life threatening to all who enter
double red water is closed to public use.
california
http://www.seecalifornia.com/beaches/beach-colors-flags.html
Yes indeed.
Thanks for that info and link.
I’ve been to Wrightsville Beach and Emerald Isle Beach many times in past years including this year and have never seen the red flags up. But I don’t go in the height of tourist travel time (in the summer) = I go in the spring and the fall.
But if I saw red flags, I would not go in the water even knee deep. But that’s just me.
More from the article:
Hogan never lost consciousness, Johansen said.
“He said, ‘I saw stars. I knew I banged really bad, but I was aware of what was going on around me,’” Johansen said.
Still, Hogan could not move.
Johansen said one of Hogan’s daughters pulled him up enough so that he could get a deep breath.
“His daughters really saved his life,” Johansen said.
Others arrived to pull him from the surf, and Hogan spent the weekend in a Wilmington hospital. By Monday, he was able to take a few steps.
He was really fortunate to have not been knocked OUT.
He’s lucky he was permanently paralyzed.
Does anybody know what that blue thing is behind his shoulder?
Hogan used to be one of the tv guys in Columbus, OH when we lived there. Always seemed like a nice guy. I’m glad he survived, and is doing fairly well, considering how it could have been a real tragedy.
I don’t know what the blue thing is behind his shoulders. Hopefully someone will come along who can explain it.....
Yes, he is very lucky his daughters were there to lift his head out of the water so he could breathe.
OH = so that’s where he came from. Nice to have him in the area now (WRAL area- central and Eastern NC). Wonder how long it will be before he is back on the News.
Apparently advertising can be very hazardous.
My father was colorblind and both of my adult sons are as well. I’m pretty certain that colorblindness played little to any role in Jeff Hogan’s misfortune at the shore.
The blue thing with red handles? Looks like a tarp-like device used to assist in moving a patient.
LOL = a typo left in by mistake....apologies.
good info, also ( in case anybody doesnt know) before you go in the ocean, watch what it is doing study the wave patterns.
Know how to swim a riptide, relax and ride the current until it lets you go or sweeps back to shore then swim slightly parralell to shore with the current
If the tide is rising it is generally safer than when it is going out where the bottom will drop out in front of a wave
most waves (unless its chaotic storm waves) come in sets, if you wait between sets you can swim out past where they crest out of danger. Sometimes the last waves in a set will be larger , other times the first
remember most of the power in a wave is above the surface, only a small amount is under water so you can survive a big wave by diving and swimming under it, like my dear old dad said “have respect for the ocean not fear” I have litterally hundreds of hours swimming/surfing the California coast much of it red flag as there is almost always a rip tide
“He’s lucky he was permanently paralyzed.”
Yeah, he could have been seriously hurt./sarc
Good info. And good that you could swim in red flag conditions. But it’s a chance that some people should not take, IMHO.
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