Man dies in freak fishing accident

[bababooey]

Wow, you never know what will happen out there, RIP. What are the odds?


Man dies in freak fishing accident

BY MARC BEJA | lidesk@newsday.com
9:44 PM EDT, July 29, 2008
In a freak accident, a piece of fishing equipment ended up killing a Roosevelt man Tuesday.

Jaime Chicas, 21, of Roosevelt, was fishing off a jetty at the west end of Jones Beach on Friday when his 3-ounce lead sinker came out of the water and hit him in the face and then lodged in his brain.

"Suddenly, we saw him laying on the rocks," said Jose Gonzalez, 30, Chicas' brother-in-law. Gonzalez and his cousin, who both had been fishing with Chicas, ran over to find Chicas bleeding from his head.

"We thought it was the fishing hook, because the thread was dangling by his eye," Gonzalez said through an interpreter. "We never could have imagined this."
The trio had gone fishing a few times before and visited the beach often, Gonzalez said. While the sun set, Chicas kept fishing, as the others began packing their belongings. As Gonzalez and his cousin walked toward the beach, they heard Chicas make a whimpering noise behind them.

After looking at X-rays, doctors at Nassau University Medical Center, where Chicas was taken, saw that the sinker of Chicas' fishing pole had just missed his right eye and entered his head at the bridge in his nose. The momentum of the lead weight continued across the middle of his brain into the back left side of his head, where it stopped, neurologist Imran Wahedna said.

"There was so much force that it kept going and it lodged through the back of his head," Wahedna said of the lead sinker. "The trauma was simply too severe."

Chicas was pronounced brain-dead at 2 p.m. yesterday, from severe head trauma and herniation, Wahedna said.

Wahedna and New York Fishing Tackle Trade Association president Gene Young all said they had never seen anything similar to Chicas' injury.

"This has to be a one-in-a-billion thing," Young said.

Chicas, a native of Lolotiquillo Morazán, El Salvador, had moved in with his sister, Nohemy, 27, and Gonzalez last year.

On Sunday mornings, he played soccer at Cantiague Park in Hicksville, where five men in the same soccer league were hit by lightning on Sunday, Gonzalez said.

Chicas is also survived by his parents, Jose and Feliciana Chicas; his wife, Fatima, and his 1-year-old daughter, who live in El Salvador; and his brother, Julio Chicas, of Hempstead.

Chicas' family is trying to raise funds to send his body back to El Salvador for burial

[pinhead44]

"On Sunday mornings, he played soccer at Cantiague Park in Hicksville, where five men in the same soccer league were hit by lightning on Sunday, Gonzalez said."


Almost didn't catch this as I read it. What are the chances that the guys he played soccer with, and him, would all get killed within the same week? I have injured myself while fishing before, flying hooks, but never a sinker. Almost unbelievable, sad sad thing to happen.rip

[dogfish]

Dumped a bucket of window sash weights on my head once when cleaning out a shed. They only fell a few inches, so I just had a headache. Thoughts and prayers to the family.

[cracklepopper]

Was going to say something about a brainless move, but I realized it would be in poor taste. Sad to see anyone die,RIP.

[pescador29]

I don't know this guy, but played soccer sometimes with the others where the lightning was. I wish I or someone of his amigos could have taught him, he probably just started fishing. If he had known this, he wouldn't be dead now. Very very sad, and more for his family. Lo siento, rip.

[bababooey]

Good point. People think fishing is an easy thing to learn. Sure it is, if you are in good shape and can mimic the actions of others. This shows that it's a good idea for new guys to try to get others to teach them. Not always possible, but a smart move considering rip currents, tides, etc. I don't think there was any way his friends could have foreseen this, though.

[BassBuddah]

Too many fishermen hurt or killed this year. Thoughts and prayers to the family.

[CharlieTuna]

One in a million shot, prayers for the family.