Coroner identifies 2 men killed in boat sinking off Central Coast
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Officials identified two men who died after a boat sank off Santa Barbara.
- Rescuers retrieved four people from the water; two were later pronounced dead.
- Investigators cited recovery challenges due to the vessel's depth of 150 feet.
The Santa Barbara County Coroner’s Bureau has released the names of the two men who died after their boat sank off Santa Barbara last week.
Robert Hirami Johnson, 69, of Azusa, and David Edgar Holmes, 65, of Apple Valley, passed away July 11 at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Coroner’s Bureau spokeswoman Raquel Zick said.
At about 8 a.m., crews from a NOAA research vessel and the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol responded to a vessel’s distress call about 1.5 miles offshore and found four people in the water.
The motor boat, a 24-foot Skipjack, had only the bow showing at the time, according to responders.
Rescue crews performed CPR on two people who were unresponsive, which was continued by medical personnel on shore, authorities said.
Johnson was pronounced deceased shortly after the rescue that morning, and Holmes was pronounced dead that afternoon, Zick said.
Two other people on the boat, an adult and a child under 13, were treated at the hospital and released, Harbor Patrol Lt. Ryan Kelly said earlier this week. He credited a life jacket with saving the child’s life in the water.
The Harbor Patrol is part of the investigating team into the fatal boat incident.
The boat itself would be a big piece of evidence into the investigation of what happened, but it’s missing.
A salvage company attached flotation devices and lights to the sinking vessel, but it apparently sank completely underwater, Kelly said.
“No plans to try to locate the boat as it is in too deep,” Kelly said Thursday.
He had previously noted that the water is about 150 feet deep in that area of the ocean.
— Noozhawk executive editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com.