Takara McDuffy, 10, Drowns At Coney Island Beach; Local Pols To Call For Water Safety Reforms


by on Jul 23rd, 2014
Takara McDuffy (Source: Facebook via Daily News)

Takara McDuffy (Source: Facebook via Daily News)

A good Samaritan yanked a 10-year-old girl and her 9-year-old sister from the water at Coney Island beach after seeing them fall off a nearby rock jetty, but the older girl did not survive.

Takara McDuffy was pronounced dead at Coney Island Hospital shortly after the 7 p.m. beach rescue near Stillwell Avenue. The medical examiner will determine the cause of death, but it is presumed to be a drowning.

The girls, from Staten Island, were playing at the beach with a group of family friends. Witnesses told reporters that they were playing on the jetty unsupervised and fell into the water. Bystanders jumped to action, and pulled both girls to shore.

The New York Post reports:

“People came rushing from all over to help out. It was horrible, it was chaotic,” said witness Ena ­McCaskill.

After a frantic, 10-minute search, a man found the girl floating about 100 yards from the jetty.

“He had a sound of desperation in his voice,” McCaskill recalled. “He was yelling for somebody to help him save the girl.”

Another good Samaritan administered CPR on the beach.

“A regular guy grabbed her and started doing CPR,” said witness Joseph ­Josephs, 24. “He was pounding her chest for a good minute. A lot of water was coming from her mouth.”

McDuffy’s parents lashed out at those who were supposed to be watching over their daughters, the Daily News reports.

The gathered friends and family demanded to know why little Takara – who could not swim – was apparently unsupervised by the group of adults she had gone to the beach with.

“It took a man to jump into the water and pull her out. Some man saw Takara’s body floating and he jumped in,” the family member said.

“Why wasn’t nobody paying attention? You was there all day and let her go in the water. Why wouldn’t you ask if she could swim?”

The incident happened less than an hour after lifeguards packed up for the evening. Swimming is prohibited at city beaches after 6:00 p.m., and there were no lifeguards on duty.

According to Borough President Eric Adams, it’s the sixth drowning death of the summer. Along with Councilmember Mark Treyger, who represents Coney Island, Adams will hold a press conference near the beach today to reiterate his call for citywide reforms to make public beaches safer, and will also be distributing the following fliers sharing water safety tips.

Water Safety Tips

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  • BrooklynBus

    Very tragic.

    Just another reason why lifeguards need to be on duty past 6 PM, but the city would rather spend its money on security guards chasing people out of the water who just go back in after the guard leaves for another bay.

    People want to go in the water for a swim after a day’s work.

    • http://incrediblewordcrap.com/ Phil Rosenthal

      or just another reason as to why people should watch after their children and be responsible parents.

    • nauticalstar

      I agree with you. But how many more hours do you think the city would put a lifeguard on duty? Until sundown? Then somehow, this shit would still happen at night and the parents STILL wouldn’t take responsibility!

      • BrooklynBus

        Not saying that lifeguards would take away responsibility from the parents. But the lifeguards should be on duty until 7 or 8 PM. Seems so dumb that they have to sit there during storms when no one is in the water and are not there many times when the water is crowded.

  • Local Broker

    This is very sad. You would think with those stats in the flyer they would try to ban all pools and swimming for any kid.

    • Jimmy

      I find it funny, how the Russians, Blacks and Arabs, who hate showering or bathing, sure seem to flock to the beach a whole heck of alot.

  • bagels

    What “city wide” reforms could he possibly be talking about. You can’t legislate personal responsibility.

  • http://brooklyngarbage.com Phil Rosenthal

    also thats such a bullshit cop out excuse by the parents. why would you entrust your children to someone stupid enough to leave them unattended on a dangerous jetty without a life guard present? that degree of stupidity seems a little deeper than a momentary lapse of judgement. also look at the grammar they use in their quote. “Why wasn’t nobody paying attention? You was there all day and let her go in the water.” not exactly harvard (or even kingsborough) material. no offense to any kingsborough students.

    • Jacqueline Carter

      How they spoke or was quoted has absolutely nothing to do with the devastating tragedy that they are experiencing. Why do “You people” use forums such as this to trash people who are always in tons of pain. Mr, Rosenthal I was speaking directly to YOU.

      • http://brooklyngarbage.com Phil Rosenthal

        What I’m alluding to is a general lack of intelligence. It is indeed a tragedy that a young child drowned and died. It’s awful. Also the stress and trauma her sister must of experienced being witness to all this is also tragic.
        The article said the girls were left with friends of the family (not strangers or someone who is being paid to watch them as in a day-camp). It also said witnesses reported seeing the girls playing unsupervised on the jetty’s. What I’m saying is the parents claiming that this is all or only the fault of the people they themselves entrusted their children to is a BULLSHIT excuse. It’s a bullshit excuse and it’s stupid and it’s a way for the family to try to absolve themselves of all guilt and responsibility towards their own children’s welfare. I wouldn’t leave the spare key to my apartment with someone whom I didn’t fully trust as a responsible and intelligent adult let alone my two children.
        How can you say I’m trashing people who are always in tons of pain? The McDuffy family is always in tons of pain? Please be more specific in your accusations rather than spouting some bullshit veiled quasi-racial-overtone nonsense.

        • nolastname

          What Jacqueline should have phrased better for your understanding…..There was NO need to choose this time for grammar 101.
          You may be correct pointing fingers is a way to deal with their pain.. Yes, the parents should have informed the family and friends that the girls could not swim, perhaps provide a float device or life jackets.
          See all that said without name calling. Intelligence is not rated by the level of grammar a person accomplished. A person can be highly intelligent with never lifting a book. A person with all the schooling in the world can be dumb as shit.
          A young girl is no longer with us. RIP

  • nauticalstar

    Somehow, I think the ocean is going to be blamed for this. Not the parents.

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