In Tragic Ordeal, Man Drowns While Attempting To Save His Brother

ST. CROIX — A St. Croix man drowned on Monday afternoon at the Frederiksted Pier while attempting to save his brother, who was out in the deep waters struggling to stay afloat, V.I.P.D. Commissioner Delroy Richards confirmed to The Consortium Tuesday morning. According to V.I.P.D. Public Information Officer Glen Dratte, the 911 emergency call center received notification of the incident at about 2:23 p.m.

According to an eyewitness who requested anonymity to speak freely on what was described as a tragically sad and heartbreaking situation, a man was out at sea crying out for help and appeared to be struggling to keep his head above water, when his brother headed out to sea in an attempt to save him. But the situation took a turn for the worse when both men appeared to be struggling to survive out in the deep, according to the eyewitness.

According to the eyewitness, the men were so far out that it would have been dangerous for someone without experience to attempt to save them. The Frederiksted Pier harbormaster, realizing his limited options, drove to the Rainbow Beach area in search of someone with a jet ski for help. He found someone, and this person sped across the waters to the drowning men.

Once he arrived at their location, the two men were carried ashore. However, the man who went out to save his brother had a very low pulse, and Mr. Richards said even the brother who survived had to be resuscitated.

The scene was described as sorrowful, as family members and friends gathered at the pier in disbelief of what had occurred, according to the eyewitness. The brother who survived was devastated by the incident and was lamenting his brother’s death. Even the eyewitness left the area after a while, unable to bear the heart-rending situation.

According to V.I.P.D. Public Information Officer Glen Dratte, both men were transported to the Juan F. Luis Hospital, where the brother who attempted to save his sibling was pronounced dead. The deceased man was transported to the hospital by ambulance, with escort provided by another brother who is an active police officer named Richard White, according to Mr. Dratte.

“The one that drown has a brother that’s a police officer. They notified him and he [escorted] them to the hospital,” V.I.P.D. Commissioner Richards said.

The brother who died was recently involved in an accident at the Bypass traffic lights in Gallows Bay, where a concrete truck overturned, and had hurt his leg — which made his attempt to save his drowning brother even more heroic. Sadly, only one of the two brothers survived the ordeal.

The deceased was identified as Robert White, age 56.

Correction: April 10, 2018

VIPD Commissioner Delroy Richards told The Consortium that the deceased man’s nane is Robert White and not Willie White, as previously stated by VIPD Public Information Officer Glen Dratte. We’ve updated the story.