Man was acquaintance of West Shore Drive residents
By John Tredrea
A 30-year-old handyman from Ohio drowned Sunday afternoon in the pool at the Hopewell Township residence where he was working for a week, police said.
The man was swimming in the pool, went underwater and did not come up for an unknown reason. The case remains under investigation.
Chief George Meyer of the township police said Yuriy Boychuk of Parma, Ohio, was pronounced dead at 12:55 p.m. at the 9 E. Shore Drive residence of Karl Zaininger.
"Mr. Boychuk was staying at the Zaininger residence for approximately one week performing handyman-type work," the chief said. "He was to return to Ohio shortly."
Mr. Boychuk and the Zainingers are Ukrainians, said Chief Meyer. Mr. Boychuk "was an ‘acquaintance’ through ethnicity. They ran in to him at a gathering of Ukrainians in New York State and he agreed to come to their home and perform some work for them before returning to Ohio."
Mr. Zaininger and others at his home observed the victim swimming in the in-ground swimming pool behind the residence, police said. Present were the Zainingers (husband, wife and adult daughter), as well as another Ukrainian friend, Chief Meyer noted.
At one point they observed him go under water and not come up. Realizing he was under too long, they called 9-1-1, pulled him to the low end of the pool and eventually got him out.
Responding township Patrolmen James Hoffman and Brian Dendis began CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) and utilized an AED (semi-automated external defibrillator) until the arrival of the Pennington First Aid Squad and paramedics from Capital Health System.
The squad and paramedics continued treating the victim until he was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:55 p.m.
Detective Kevin Zorn and Patrolman Michael Simonelli are investigating the case.