Tybee Island crews respond to medical emergency at 15th Street beach crossover

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) - Tybee Island Fire Rescue and Ocean Rescue responded to a reported medical emergency Monday around 3:30 p.m. at the 15th Street beach crossovers, according to the fire department.

Units were dispatched for reports of a female in medical distress. Responders said they found the patient unresponsive near the waterline when they arrived.

Bystanders, including the patient’s daughter and another adult, removed the woman from the water before emergency crews arrived, the fire department said.

The department said interviews with family members and witnesses indicated the woman complained of feeling dizzy and like she might pass out before entering the water. Witnesses later observed her enter the ocean and then become face down in shallow water, according to the fire department.

Lifeguards and firefighters began CPR after finding the woman was pulseless. Crews provided ventilations with supplemental oxygen and used an automated external defibrillator to monitor the patient’s cardiac rhythm during resuscitation efforts.

The response included Tybee Island Fire Rescue, Ocean Rescue personnel including a roving lifeguard from Tower 1 Chatham Emergency Services and the Tybee Island Police Department.

The fire department said the patient was transferred to a local medical facility for more care.