A Florida surfer is in grave danger after a horrific accident in which he struck his head on a pier piling, officials and family members said.
Jorge Alvarado, 49, suffered severe head injuries in Daytona Beach on Friday morning and is currently on life support.
Alvarado had been out in the ocean and appears to have struck a sandbar before hitting a piling at Sunglow Pier around 9 a.m., Volusia County Beach Safety and Ocean Rescue said. According to the Daytona Beach News Journal.
County Ocean Rescue Director Tamra Malphurs told the outlet that a passerby saw him “in an unsecured area, hit his head on a piling and go under.” It took several minutes for him to be rescued and then taken to the hospital.
“There were several people on the scene who were heroic enough to rush to the scene to try and get him out and as soon as they were rescued, people from Volusia County showed up and got to work right away,” said Chris Chivallo, a friend of Alvarado's. He told WKMG.
Another friend of Alvarado's, Brian Holmes, said Alvarado's accident was incredibly unusual.
“We've all fallen like this hundreds of times and some of us have come close to hitting the bottom, but it takes a really good fall to injure someone like this,” Holmes told the station.
Holmes described him as a “funny guy” who made friends easily and was like a father or uncle to young surfers.
The surfer's friends have started a fundraising campaign, which has raised more than $13,000 so far.
“Jorge was loved by many and we, as a community, want to care for him and his family during this difficult time,” the GoFundMe post reads.
