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A tragic incident has left a mother holding onto the few belongings her son left behind. ABC News reports that Patrice Thompson is clinging to the final memories of her son, Sir Audley Sykes, after he drowned at Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York. Sykes reportedly urged lifeguards to save his friend first.
Sir Audley Sykes tragically died at Rockaway Beach in Queens on Sunday, August 9. Sykes reportedly drowned after a rip current caught him. Around 7:30 p.m. local time, lifeguards rushed into the water after spotting two swimmers struggling. Sykes and his best friend had got caught in the rip current together along the notoriously dangerous stretch of the shoreline. The incident happened after swimming hours, when lifeguards had reportedly already left their chairs. However, they remained nearby and had stayed late since were temperatures were hot that day. As the lifeguards moved in to help, Patrice said Sykes urged them to save his friend first.
“His best friend said he got tired and when he got tired […] that’s when the lifeguard got to him and he told the lifeguard to go to his friend and my son said, ‘no, go and pull my best friend out of the water,'” Thompson continued, “He would save someone else before he thought about himself and that’s the thing I appreciated about him the most.”
Sir Audley Sykes reportedly became the first person to drown at Rockaway Beach this summer. As his mother reflected on his final moments, she said she had to announce his passing just two days after celebrating her birthday. “I saw my baby on a stretcher, unresponsive, his heart beating on a machine,” Thompson said. Now, she’s holding onto the memories and the good times they shared. Thompson said those memories with her baby boy help her feel like everything “wasn’t just ripped away.”Patrice also shared that Sir was a great football player, adding that his teammates were “a great family to her and Sir.”
Funeral arrangements for Sir Audley Sykes remains private. However, an alleged GoFundMe page says he was his mother’s eldest son and he leaves behind six brothers. While speaking with ABC News, Patrice Thompson said losing Sir feels unimaginable, but she believes his desire to save his friend first shows the kind of person he was. “They always say the good die young,” Thompson said. “It’s gotta be for a reason.”
