Lifeguard in critical, swimmer drowned in breath-holding exercise gone wrong at Staten Island pool
BY Daniel Prendergast, Bob Kappstatter and Joe Kemp
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
One man training to be a Navy SEAL was dead and a city lifeguard was in grave condition yesterday after they tried doing breath-holding exercises in a public pool in Staten Island.
Bohdan Vitenko and Jonathan Proce, both 21, were found facedown in 3 feet of water in the Lyons Pool in Tompkinsville, where they were practicing techniques similar to those used in military training, authorities said.
Both men were taken to Richmond University Medical Center after they were rescued about 8:25 a.m. from the crowded pool on Victory Blvd., near Hannah St., authorities said.
Vitenko, a John Jay College student, died about 9:45 a.m., officials said. Proce, who works as a lifeguard for a pool in another borough, was still in critical condition last night.
"He was really passionate about [becoming a Navy SEAL]," said Vitenko's father, Oleg Vitenko, 45. "This is a very dangerous kind of job. We were not very excited about it, but we did not want to discourage him from doing what he liked to do."
His son kept a log book titled "Navy Seal Training," which detailed several grueling exercises, including running on logs and climbing walls and ropes.
"He had a thing about pushing himself toward the limits," his father said.
About 20 people were swimming in the pool, which opened at 7 a.m. and was staffed with lifeguards, when Proce and Vitenko were plucked from a far corner.
Two friends of theirs were also in the water at the time, but were not partaking in the exercises, said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe.
"We're very surprised about what happened because Jonathan is a very accomplished swimmer," said Proce's uncle, Jerrier Atassi, adding that his nephew was training to become a pararescue jumper for the U.S. Air Force.
"He's a young man with a bright future who was training to become one of tomorrow's heroes," he said of Proce, a student on a leave of absence from John Jay College.
The pool was re-opened by late afternoon.
[edit] Proce died a couple days later