Former NBA All-Star for the Atlanta Hawks, Dan Roundfield, drowned this week while vacationing with his wife in Aruba. And not only did he die a former basketball star, he more importantly died a hero, by saving his wife from drowning herself.
Roundfield and his wife were swimming off the southern tip of the island on Monday when they went beyond a protected reef area and got caught in rough water, said John Larmonie, a police spokesman for the police on the southern Caribbean island.
Roundfield, 59, managed to get his wife to some rocks where she was able to scramble to safety but he was then swept away in the current, Larmonie said. Search teams found his body about 90 minutes later trapped by rocks underwater.
“It’s a real tragedy,” he said. “He drowned saving his wife.”
Julia Roundfield, a sister-in-law of the athlete, who lives in Detroit, said the family was still trying to get details of the incident.
“He was a real sweet guy,” Julia Roundfield said. “He really was a sweetheart.”
The player’s wife, Bernie, was treated for shock after the incident.
[Source Associated Press]
