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Utah father in coma after attempting rescue of son who fell into ocean during Hawaii visit

Posted at 9:29 PM, Mar 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-08 11:17:45-05

A Utah father is in a coma Wednesday night after he dove into fierce waves to save his son, who fell into the ocean while they were vacationing in Hawaii.

The family’s youngest son stayed home for work and is now thousands of miles away from his family during this difficult time.

It was Sunday when Erik Davidov called to wish his mom a happy birthday and a happy wedding anniversary for his parents, only to find out their celebrations in Hawaii turned into tragedy.

“I call her and I hear sirens,” Erik said. “He's not saying anything, but I keep hearing the sirens and at that point I’m like what what's going on.”

Those sirens Erik heard were blaring from the ambulance that was rushing his father and brother to the hospital after they nearly drowned.

“I’m speechless, I’m like, what, is this real life?” Erik said

His parents, brother and sister-in-law were exploring Maui’s Makaluapuna Point when Erik says his 28-year-old brother fell into the ocean.

Water was filling his lungs and his brother thought he was going to die.

“At that point he says, 'I’m ready to let go and I turn and I see dad has jumped in the water to help me,'” Erik said.

Waves now crashing over him and his 54-year-old father.

“He said, 'Dad why did you jump in? why did you jump in?'” Erik said.

The father and son used all their energy to stay above the waves.

“He said he had this unexplainable feelings of emotion, love, fear and hopelessness,” Erik said.

Their wives watched helplessly as the ocean waves beat down.

“They're holding on to each other, they're in the water trying to stay afloat, the waves keep crashing down on them,” Erik said.

Finally they saw lifeguards.

“My brother said he felt relief when he saw the jet skis coming, then he turns around and my dad’s way out there—at least 50-60 feet,” Erik said.

His brother passed out when he was lifted onto the Jet Ski, and when lifeguards found his dad, he was in cardiac arrest, performing CPR for nearly 15 minutes.

“They found the pulse on my dad and because of that he's alive today,” Erik said.

Erik's dad is in a coma, but knowing he selflessly risked his life to save his son...

“The guy's a hero," Erik said. "He might have not saved my brother, but the instinct, my kid is drowning and I’m going to jump in to try to help him, it breaks my heart,” Erik said. “It may be a long recovery but at least he’s alive.”

Erik says their family is eternally grateful for the lifeguards who pulled his brother and father out of the water and also to the hospital staff at Maui Memorial Medical Center who are taking such great care of their entire family.

Erik says they won’t know for about two weeks if their father has any brain damage. His mother is staying out there but they won’t be able to work and are now overwhelmed with medical expenses. They have set up a GoFundMe page to help them during this difficult time.