SHIRLEY, N.Y. (WCBS 880) – A man drowned Friday night after he was "struck by a large wave" and pulled out to sea on Long Island, Suffolk County police said Saturday.
The 54-year-old victim, who has not been identified, was swimming with another man off Smith Point Beach in Shirley when both were hit by the large wave just before 8 p.m.
The second man made it back to shore, but the victim was pulled out into the water, police said.
Members of the U.S. Coast Guard and Mastic Beach Fire Department eventually recovered the man from the water.
"We were out looking for him for quite a while," Petty Officer John Hightower told Newsday, adding that Suffolk County Aviation and fire department divers were involved in the search.
The man was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, where he was pronounced dead.
Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives are investigating his death.
