hellwoman
03-12-2007, 06:41 PM
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegion/2007/03/02/3685493-sun.html
London man dies in Bahamas
Fri, March 2, 2007
By PATRICK MALONEY, SUN MEDIA
On the day he would have turned 22, the body of Derek Taylor will return to London from the Bahamas, where he died after what police there believe was a freak accident.
The Saunders secondary school graduate, who arrived for a sun-soaked holiday Sunday, was knocked off a rented jet ski and, within minutes, lay dead on a Nassau-area beach in a strange tragedy on Monday.
"I just couldn't believe that something so freaky would happen," said Susan Miszczak, whose daughter Katie was on the jet ski with Taylor, her boyfriend.
"He died in her arms, basically. He was a wonderful young man," Miszczak said last night.
Taylor's body is to be flown home Sunday, his birthday, she added.
Contacted last night, Bahamas police said foul play isn't suspected in the death. While the investigation continues, it "appears to be a freak accident," said Chief Supt. Hulan Hanna.
The young couple, dating about a year, rented the jet ski on the beach, Hanna said, though it's unclear if they were given lessons. A large wave knocked them off and they struggled to get ashore, he said.
Taylor was pronounced dead on Colonial Beach, he said.
That's similar to the account Katie gave her mother over the phone: She recalled Derek trying to return to shore after seeing the high waves.
After they were knocked off the jet ski, and had made it back to the beach, Derek said he thought he was having a panic attack. He then sat down and, within minutes, was face-down in the sand.
"(Katie) is hysterical, basically," Susan Miszczak said. "She said she was screaming for help and there wasn't anybody close enough."
Taylor's father, Larry, has arrived in the Bahamas, Susan said. He and Katie are to return with Taylor's body Sunday.
By yesterday many of Taylor's friends had posted online messages mourning his death. One friend described him as "a great guy."
"He always lived every day like it was his last," the friend told The Free Press.
Taylor had been employed at a London factory until recently, those who knew him said, but wasn't working when he went on vacation.
About 2:12 p.m. Monday, Royal Bahamas police were called to the beach emergency, Hanna said.
London man dies in Bahamas
Fri, March 2, 2007
By PATRICK MALONEY, SUN MEDIA
On the day he would have turned 22, the body of Derek Taylor will return to London from the Bahamas, where he died after what police there believe was a freak accident.
The Saunders secondary school graduate, who arrived for a sun-soaked holiday Sunday, was knocked off a rented jet ski and, within minutes, lay dead on a Nassau-area beach in a strange tragedy on Monday.
"I just couldn't believe that something so freaky would happen," said Susan Miszczak, whose daughter Katie was on the jet ski with Taylor, her boyfriend.
"He died in her arms, basically. He was a wonderful young man," Miszczak said last night.
Taylor's body is to be flown home Sunday, his birthday, she added.
Contacted last night, Bahamas police said foul play isn't suspected in the death. While the investigation continues, it "appears to be a freak accident," said Chief Supt. Hulan Hanna.
The young couple, dating about a year, rented the jet ski on the beach, Hanna said, though it's unclear if they were given lessons. A large wave knocked them off and they struggled to get ashore, he said.
Taylor was pronounced dead on Colonial Beach, he said.
That's similar to the account Katie gave her mother over the phone: She recalled Derek trying to return to shore after seeing the high waves.
After they were knocked off the jet ski, and had made it back to the beach, Derek said he thought he was having a panic attack. He then sat down and, within minutes, was face-down in the sand.
"(Katie) is hysterical, basically," Susan Miszczak said. "She said she was screaming for help and there wasn't anybody close enough."
Taylor's father, Larry, has arrived in the Bahamas, Susan said. He and Katie are to return with Taylor's body Sunday.
By yesterday many of Taylor's friends had posted online messages mourning his death. One friend described him as "a great guy."
"He always lived every day like it was his last," the friend told The Free Press.
Taylor had been employed at a London factory until recently, those who knew him said, but wasn't working when he went on vacation.
About 2:12 p.m. Monday, Royal Bahamas police were called to the beach emergency, Hanna said.