WWE the great Shad Gaspar gave his life to save his 10 year old son in a swimming accident on Venice Beach, Californiatold the lifeguard in the heartbreaking first tale of the tragedy.
Shouting “Save my son, save my son,” the 6-foot-7 wrestler, who fought waves as high as 8 feet, threw the boy to rescuers before he was dragged underwater by the deadly tide and drowned, lifeguard Thomas Swift said in a recent – filed court documents received by
Swift was able to save the son of Gaspard Arie, whose name is AG.
But Gaspard’s wife, Siliana, filed a wrongful death suit against the city and county. Los Angeles and the State of California alleging “dangerous conditions” at Venice Beach and “negligence”.
She claimed that there were not enough signs to warn 39-year-old Gaspard and A.G. about the “danger or risk” of swimming there. She also blames the rescuers for being slow to respond, poorly trained, understaffed and lack proper equipment.
Los Angeles County, which is in charge of public safety at Venice Beach, denied her claims, saying there were many signs warning of backflow and other risks and insisting that lifeguards be properly trained and equipped. Los Angeles officials filed a motion before the Los Angeles Superior Court asking for a “brief judgment” to exonerate them of any blame for Gaspard’s death.
And now, in support of that petition, lifeguard Swift, a former member of the U.S. National Rescue Team, has presented his disturbing version of what happened on that fateful day, May 17, 2020, in a statement to the court.
The former WWE wrestler drowned on May 17, 2020 while swimming with his 10-year-old son in Venice Beach. The lifeguard testified that Gaspar was shouting “Save my son, save my son!” and threw the boy to the rescuers before he was dragged under the water by the deadly tide
Gaspard’s wife, Siliana, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City and County of Los Angeles alleging “dangerous conditions” at Venice Beach and “negligence”. She was seen leaving the beach after the tragic incident.
A 30-year lifeguard veteran, Swift, said conditions were so dire that he and another lifeguard had to rescue six more swimmers shortly before he spotted Gaspard and his son A.G. in the water.
On that fateful day, the waves were up to eight feet high, with four to six feet of surf and strong rip currents.
Gaspar is best known as a member of the wrestling team Cryme Tyme along with WWE star JTG.
“I saw two people about 200 yards south of my location heading into the surf and observed a set of waves approximately 4 to 8 feet high,” he said in his four-page statement.
“After the third wave in the set, I watched as these two people (who he later learned were Gaspar and A.G.) were knocked down and began to drift northward in a side current that was moving at a speed of about 5 -10 knots.
“I immediately called the Santa Monica headquarters and said I was going to help these two people. I took my rescue jar and, based on my training and experience, ran fourth diagonally in the direction of the reverse current that would carry the offspring (Gaspar) and AG to try and cut them off. I entered the water with at least one fin and started diving with dolphins and swimming to Gaspard and A.G.
“When I was about 20 feet from Gaspard and A.G., a big wave about 6-8 feet high was approaching with a large volume of water.
“As the wave was about to break, I saw Gaspar push A.G. by the shoulders about five feet in my direction. As soon as Gasper pushed AG, the wave crashed right into Gaspar, and the white water from the wave pulled me and AG under the water….and kept everyone underwater for a few seconds.
“When I surfaced, A.G. was about five feet to my right and Gaspard was about 20 feet to my left….. I swam up to A.G. and gave him my lifeboat and told him to hold on to it to stabilize A.G. so I can help Gasper.
“When the next wave hit, A.G. issued a rescue jar. I took out the rescue jar and returned it to the AG. After the impact of the second wave, I lost sight of Gasper.
“It was clear to me that A.G. was disoriented and would not be able to hold on to the life tank in rough ocean conditions……. I decided that I could not swim to Gaspar’s location and ensure A.G.’s safety at the same time.”
Lifeguard Thomas Swift described Gaspard’s final moments in newly filed court documents obtained by .
Swift added: “Due to the rough ocean conditions and the white water pushing us into the shower, the distance between the two victims, and the AG’s inability to hold the rescue can, I made the decision to bring the AG to shore and then return. help Gasper.
“Based on these conditions, I came to the conclusion that if I had not returned A.G. to the shore, he would have died.
After handing over the AG to two rescue volunteers as they made it to shore, Swift – a certified ambulance technician and American Red Cross lifeguard instructor – dived back into the ocean to try and rescue Gaspard.
“I swam into the sea, where I thought Gaspard should be,” he continued. “As I swam, I could see two surfers in front of me and about 20 yards to my left paddling towards Gaspar trying to help.
“The surfers approached Gaspard first, waved at me and said that Gaspard was right below them… Two surfers told me they were with Gaspard for about 10-15 seconds before he went under the water.
“They reported pushing their boards towards Gaspard, but he seemed disoriented, didn’t grab onto their boards, and just kept saying, ‘Save my son, save my son.
Swift said that he and another lifeguard who arrived at the scene dived several times in an attempt to find Gaspard. The rescue boat and other rescuers joined the search, but they were unable to find Gaspar. He was swept out to sea and his lifeless body was later found near the coastline.
In her original court papers, Siliana Gaspar told a different story, claiming that when the rescuers “saw Shad and A.G. wrestling in the water, they did nothing for an unreasonable and careless period of time.”
Potential rescuers “eventually went into the water, but without the proper equipment to carry out their duties of helping people in the water like Shad Gaspar and A.G.,” she stated, adding that the rescuers “only chose to help A. G. and left Shad Gasper in the water.” water to die.”
Siliana also alleged that the Venice Beach lifeguard stations were “negligently understaffed” and that Los Angeles County officials “were negligent about the lack of proper training and oversight, and were negligent in hiring, retaining, training and supervising lifeguards” .
“The actions of the defendants or their inaction increased the degree of danger of the state of the scene that led to the death of Shad Gaspar”
Gaspar married Siliana Gaspar in 2009 and they have a son together. Gaspard began his acting career after retiring from the wrestling world in 2010.
In her lawsuit, Siliana alleged that when the lifeguards “saw Shad and A.G. wrestling in the water, they did nothing for an unreasonable and negligent amount of time.”
Siliana Gaspard remained on the beach the day Gaspard went missing and was seen looking out to the ocean while the Coast Guard conducted a search.
Swift’s boss, Daniel Murphy, chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Rescue Services Division, denied Liliana’s claims in a court filing.
In a recently filed legal document, he alleged that “a diving team, several rescue teams, rescue boats, a helicopter, a personal jet ski, Baywatch Del Rey and Baywatch were sent to look for Mr. Gaspar after he dived, but they couldn’t find him.” .
Murphy also included a chapter of the Manuel Ocean Academy detailing “the most important life-saving procedures, equipment and techniques required by ocean rescuers”.
And he listed signs such as “WARNING – BEWARE OF REPAIR CURRENTS” and “REMEMBER THE OPEN OCEAN AND SWIMMING ACCORDING TO YOUR CAPABILITY” that are displayed on Venice Beach.
Gaspar, who was originally known in the WWF as Da Beast on the Cryme Time tag team with partner JTG, retired from professional wrestling in 2011 to pursue a career in television and film acting. He was in Get Hard 2015 with Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart.
Paying tribute to Gaspard, former wrestler-turned-movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said, “Shad drowned in the ocean, but not before instructing rescuers to rescue his son first. This is the love of a father.”
The next court hearing on Siliana’s claim is scheduled for May 17, exactly two years after Gaspar’s death.