A father gave his own life to save that of his seven-year-old son in a kayak accident in California’s Lake Perris over the weekend, according to authorities.
The father drowned as he was helping keep his son stay alive after their kayak capsized in the large reservoir located about 40 miles west of Palm Springs, KABC in Los Angeles reported.
On Saturday, California State Park officers responded to reports of screaming and people in distress in the water near the lake’s Moreno Beach shortly after 4 p.m., according to the Lake Perris State Recreation Area (SRA) authorities.
The 54-year-old father and his son had been paddling on the lake when their kayak capsized, officials said. Neither of them was wearing a lifejacket, according to Lake Perris SRA.
Officers arrived and immediately recovered the man, who officials said was unconscious and partially underwater. The child was holding onto his dad, which helped keep himself above water.
Investigators said the father had heroically kept his son afloat, supporting him until officers arrived.
As first responders pulled both of them from the lake, they began CPR on the father, eventually transporting both family members to the hospital. There, the dad was pronounced dead, but the son is expected to be okay.
Lake Perris is an artificial lake completed in 1973, one of several in California, created to provide a reserve of water for developed areas in the state. They also serve as popular recreation areas for fishing, boating and swimming.
The Lake Perris drowning is under investigation by California State Parks law enforcement and the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office, KABC reported.