Officials Monday identified a man who was found dead by the water in Pacific Beach on Sunday morning.
Police were called to an area not far from the 100 block of Santa Rita at around 2 a.m. after the victim, identified by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's office as 24-year-old Kevin Dignan of Austin, Texas, was found unresponsive by a group of his friends.
According to the ME, Dignan was visiting San Diego with friends. He dove into the water with one of his friends, but when his friend came back up, he could not find Dignan. The friend alerted the others, and they found Dignan lying on the beach several yards away.
The friends called 911 and attempted lifesaving measures until first responders arrived, officials said. Despite their efforts, Dignan was pronounced dead at the scene just after 3 a.m.
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Dignan's cause of death was ruled as a drowning due to a broken neck after direct contact with the head and neck. The manner of death was ruled as accidental, according to the ME.
Video shot at the scene shows a group of people, most of whom appear to be men, near the paramedics as they worked on the victim. Several people were clearly distraught, with others comforting them.
As Troy Escoffier, an EMT and veteran surfer told NBC 7 on Sunday, being in any body of water at night isn't safe.
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"Rip currents, you're not — you can't see when you're going out, especially at night," Escoffier said, adding, "you just don't expect anything bad to happen to you, and then all of a sudden: Boom, it can happen."
A reminder to San Diegans and visitors to America's Finest City: San Diego lifeguards are on duty from 9 in the morning to dusk.
