VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Experts say it's important to swim near a lifeguard if there's one around. Holiday weekends pose a bigger threat for drowning and rescues, according to the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Services.
The reminder comes after a 19-year-old drowned at College Creek in James City County over the weekend.
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In Virginia Beach, lifeguard Tom Gill said his team has rescued a record number of people over the holiday weekend—more than 200 rescues. That's a huge increase from last summer.
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"For a three-day period, that's a lot," he said. "Last summer, we were only in the upper 300's for the total summer."
At Buckroe Beach in Hampton, there were two reported rescues over the holiday weekend.
It all hits close to home for Brenda Eason Wilson, the mother of Zamari Wilson, a middle schooler who drowned in Virginia Beach on July 3, 2022.
Wilson and her attorney, Yaida Ford, spoke to CBS affiliate WUSA in Washington over the weekend. She said her son died in the final hours of the family vacation. He swept up on a stretch of a private beach on Shore Drive.
"There was a dip that I think no one was aware of, and we believe he lost his footing and there was no indicator in the water that you might see at some hotels or resorts like 'don't go beyond this point'," Ford told WUSA.
Just two months ago, in Virginia Beach, crews responded to a report of a drowning at the 1st Street Jetty. Three people were rescued with one minor injury to a lifeguard. No one else was hurt.
News is working to gather the number of rescues from other localities over the 4th of July holiday weekend.
