WEST BLOOMFIELD TWP, Mich. – A 19-year-old West Bloomfield Township man died Sunday night in what the Oakland County Medical Examiner has ruled an accidental drowning on Pine Lake.
Jauwan Walter Hayes Jr. was at the beach with family members, swimming in a designated swimming area between two floating platforms, when witnesses say they noticed him struggling to stay afloat, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
First responders were dispatched to the lake around 6:24 p.m. after receiving reports of a swimmer who went underwater and had not resurfaced in the area of Norman Wood Drive.
Bystanders immediately entered the water to search for Hayes and managed to bring him to shore before search and rescue teams arrived, police said. Despite an hours-long effort to resuscitate him by paramedics at the scene and medical staff at Henry Ford Hospital West Bloomfield, Hayes did not survive and was pronounced dead at 9:38 p.m.
The Sheriff’s Office says he was not wearing a life jacket and alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the drowning, which remains under investigation.