CLEARWATER, Fla. — A 25-year-old Largo man died Wednesday at a local hospital after he was pulled from water behind a Clearwater Beach hotel.
- Authorities say Nicholas Baldwin died at hospital
- He was pulled from water after coworkers noticed him missing
Nicholas Baldwin, an employee at Makin' Waves Jet Ski Rentals, died at Morton Plant Hospital, according to Clearwater Fire and Rescue.
Fire and police units responded just before 2 p.m. to the area near Shephard's Beach Resort on S. Gulfview Boulevard.
Baldwin was pulled from the water by co-workers who noticed he had gone missing and guests who moved to help. They began CPR at the scene before Baldwin was taken to the hospital.
Guests at resort tried to help
One guest at the resort visiting from Chicago told us he saw when Baldwin's co-workers pulled him from the water.
"First they thought it was a buoy because of the neon-colored shirt," he explained. "But then they called 911 ... they pulled him out before 911 came."
The guest, who gave his name as "Mark," went on to say other guests at the resort who didn't shield their children from the scene instead ran in to see how they could help.
"They went in and did what they could," Mark said. "They pulled him out. There were nurses here, on vacation obviously — not on duty — and they were trying to revive him, doing CPR, but it just wasn't working.
Another man visiting the area, Adam Herle, told us the news came as a shock because he'd just rented wave runners from Makin' Waves on Tuesday.
"That is really frightening," Herle said. "I mean, especially since he worked there. Those guys seemed to know exactly what they were doing, so it must have been a fluke accident, if anything, would be my guess."
It's still unclear what happened or how long Baldwin was in the water before he was found. The case is still under investigation.