Died a hero: Wildwood drowning victim was trying to save kids

WILDWOOD — Authorities say a Pennsylvania man who drowned while swimming off the Jersey coast last weekend apparently was trying to help two children who had been pulled into the ocean, possibly by a riptide.

Wildwood police say the children were playing on a sandbar before they got pulled into the water on Sunday afternoon.

Authorities have said lifeguards went into the water to rescue several swimmers in distress. But once back on shore they discovered that 35-year-old Hany Mohamed, of Middletown, Pennsylvania, was missing.

Surfers found Mohamed about two hours later in waters off nearby Wildwood Crest. He was taken to a hospital but was pronounced dead there a short time later.

Mohamed was among a dozen drowning victims this summer in New Jersey.

On Tuesday, two girls were pulled from a rip current in Bradley Beach. In Ocean Grove, retired and active lifeguards rescued 15 people on an unguarded beach.

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