A Brooklyn teen who drowned in the waters off Coney Island near the iconic Cyclone rollercoaster had autism and epilepsy — and suffered a medical episode in the water just before he went under, his heartbroken mother said Monday.
Jun Alexander Obas, 18, was with his mom and two sisters enjoying his first ever day at the beach last Wednesday afternoon when he apparently drowned, his heartbroken mother, Karla Judith Obas, 39, told the Daily News.
“He wanted to enjoy the beach,” Obas said in Spanish. “He was asking a lot. We never went to the beach with him because of the epilepsy.”
Despite her concerns, Obas relented because her son was so excited by the idea.
“This is the first time we went to the beach with him because I was always afraid of the water with him,” she explained.
Courtesy of family
Jun Alexander Obas, 18, drowned at the beach at Coney Island on Wednesday. (Courtesy of family)
The outing started well. The family went in the water together, taking it slowly. Obas has cellphone video of Jun and her daughters sitting quietly on the beach close to the water, their toes barely touched by the gentle waves.
“He was good. He was fine,” Obas said. “We went in the water with him. Me and his sister were bathing. I was teaching him because it was the first time.”
Then waves started rushing in stronger and stronger and Jun appeared to suffer a medical episode in the water near W. 10th St. and Surf Ave. around 3 p.m.
Before she knew it, her son was face down in about 2 feet of water.
His sister grabbed his hand but he did not react, Obas recalled.
“We grabbed his hand to get him out but he weighs like 200 pounds.” Obas said. “It was difficult for us to take him out.”
That’s when the mom started screaming for help.
People on the beach, including on-duty lifeguards, sprinted over but could not revive Jun once they got him out of the water
Medics rushed the teen to South Brooklyn Health, where doctors pronounced him dead 20 minutes later, cops said.
An initial autopsy was inconclusive and further study is needed to determine Jun’s exact cause of death, a spokesperson for the city Medical Examiner said Monday.
Jun would have turned 19 next month. Now rather than planning a birthday celebration his mother has to raise money for his funeral.
“He was a child who was born sick,” Obas said. “It was not easy for him. He had autism and he had his epilepsy.”
Jun took several medications which had brought his seizures under control. “The doctor never told me that he cannot go to the beach,” his distraught mother said.
Obas said she will try to remember how much her son was enjoying himself before the water rushed in around him.
”He was happy,” she said. “I was happy because I took him there.”
Shutterstock
Coney Island beach. (Shutterstock)
Swimming was permitted in the area where Jun apparently drowned.
“We are saddened by this tragic loss of life and our hearts go out to the victim’s family and friends,” a city Parks Department spokeswoman said. “We’re grateful for the swift response by Parks lifeguards who work hard every day to keep New Yorkers safe.”
The tragedy comes a week after the body of a 23-year-old man washed ashore on Rockaway Beach near Beach 25th St. on July 31. The swimmer, a recent immigrant from Africa, disappeared on July 25 near Beach 20th St. around 6 p.m. as storm clouds were gathering.
Swimming is prohibited on New York City beaches during thunderstorms and every day after lifeguards go off duty at 6 p.m.
On July 20 another man’s body was discovered floating in the water about 4 miles west of there, at Rockaway Beach near Beach 97th St.
Although his face was badly decomposed, he was eventually identified by the medical examiner as Jimmy Rambally, 37, a former lifeguard who, despite being a strong swimmer, disappeared while taking a prohibited late-night swim around 11:20 p.m. July 12.
Rambally had told his mother he wanted to go lie on the beach and look at the stars. His brother told The News that, according to a friend who accompanied him to the beach, once Rambally got there he couldn’t resist going into the nighttime waters.
With John Annese
Originally Published:
