San Diego man dies in the Keys after diving for a football in shallow water
A man from San Diego, California, died in the Florida Keys Saturday afternoon after diving from a boat into shallow water to catch a football, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
The agency identified the man Saturday night as Liam John Daly.
Sheriff’s office spokesman Adam Linhardt said Daly, 46, was on a commercial pontoon boat when the accident happened around 1 p.m. off Key Haven in the Lower Keys. Witnesses on the boat said Daly took a diving leap from the boat into shallow water to catch the ball and surfaced unresponsive face down.
The boat’s crew radioed the sheriff’s office they were coming in with the injured man. Paramedics were waiting at the docks in Key Haven and took Daly to the Lower Keys Medical Center on Key West, where he was pronounced dead, Lihhardt said.
Foul play is not suspected, and autopsy results are pending, Linhardt said.
This story was originally published November 13, 2021 at 7:45 PM.
