Dad of three drowns off Alabama coast trying to save son, cops say. ‘Worst nightmare’
A Georgia father drowned off Alabama’s Gulf Shores when he and his son were swept away, outlets report.
On June 22, William “Tracy” Strozier and his family were vacationing on the Alabama coast, AL.com reported.
Strozier, 49, was with his teenage son in the water, the Orange Beach News reported, when they became distressed.
The pair were at a sandbar offshore in about waist-deep water, WALA reported.
Strozier tried to help his son, AL.com reported, before another man went into the water.
The second man was on a boogie board and was trying to help the father and son, WALA reported.
When lifeguards arrived, they found the three in the water, according to WALA.
They were pulled to shore, but Strozier was unconscious, according to the Orange Beach News. Lifeguards started CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the a hospital.
“What was supposed to be a beautiful family vacation has turned into her worst nightmare,” a friend of Strozier’s wife wrote on Facebook.
“Absolutely heartbroken, y’all, please pray for the Tracy Strozier family,” another wrote. “He was the best person you could ever know.”
Strozier died a week after an Oklahoma man went missing in the Gulf nearby, 1819 News reported. Another man, a 47-year-old from Texas, drowned June 20 on Orange Beach.
Strozier’s family lives in Madison, Georgia, about 60 miles east of Atlanta.
What to know about rip currents
Authorities have warned those traveling to the Gulf coast about dangerous rip currents that can quickly pull a swimmer underwater or to deeper areas, WTVY reported.
“Rip currents are powerful channeled currents of water flowing away from the shore,” according to NOAA. “They typically extend from the shoreline, through the surf zone and past the line of breaking waves. Rip currents can occur at any beach with breaking waves.”
NOAA recommends swimming in groups and swimming parallel to the shoreline if you believe you’re caught in a rip current.
This story was originally published July 6, 2023 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Dad of three drowns off Alabama coast trying to save son, cops say. ‘Worst nightmare’."
