HOLMES BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say a bicyclist drowned when he tried to retrieve his hat after it flew into the water as he rode across a bridge in Florida.
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer who was driving across the Anna Maria Island Bridge around noon Wednesday saw 51-year-old Andy Lewis Milton Sr. go into the water. Witnesses said he was trying to get his hat.
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The officer called for help.
Marine Rescue Chief Joseph Westerman says a nearby lifeguard and several boaters assisted.
A boater spotted something in the water and Westerman says he took the lifeguard to the spot on a jet ski. Within two dives he pulled Milton from the water.
Paramedics tried to save him, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
