FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KMPH) -
A dip in a Fresno County pond to cool off from the hot temperatures becomes a deadly mistake.
Emergency crews had to pull a man out of the water after he didn't resurface on his own.
It happened at a ponding basin behind Shady Lakes mobile home park in Easton, southwest of Fresno.
Fresno County deputies say the 22–year–old man had been drinking before he decided to go in the water.
"It's tempting to get in when you're super hot, you're walking around. Last year I caught a couple kids trying to cross the pond, and I told them to get out," said Irma Sanchez who lives in the area.
But this time a swimmer didn't make it out on his own.
Deputies say two women who were with the man called for help nearly 20 minutes after they realized their friend hadn't come up for air.
Emergency crews pulled the man out of the water and tried to revive him.
He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Investigators say alcohol could have been a factor in the drowning.
"People think they'll have two beers they'll be fine even if they know how to swim. They go in and don't come up because of one reason or another, the cold water puts their body into shock," said Sgt. Francis Devins with the Fresno County Sheriff's Office.
Mike Peal, who lives in the area, says he swims in the pond from time to time, and didn't think it could be dangerous.
"When you get to the middle, it's about 4 feet deep, not very deep at all. When you get to the other end of the pond there's an outlet that will suck you down if you were to get over there, otherwise this pond is fine to swim in," said Peal.
After Sunday's tragedy, neighbors hope community leaders will act to prevent another tragedy from happening here again.
"Something definitely has to get done. It's so sad it has to come to this, an actual drowning. A fence has to go up, a gate, or something," said Sanchez.
This is the third drowning in Fresno County in seven days.
Two people drowned while swimming in the San Joaquin River last week.
