Forest Park graduate drowns in Fredericksburg quarry
http://www.insidenova.com/headlines/updated-forest-park-graduate-drowns-in-fredericksburg-quarry/article_985569aa-06ad-11e4-9df6-0019bb2963f4.html
Police have identified a Triangle teen who died Monday night swimming at a quarry in Fredericksburg as Anthony Mandel Johnson, Jr.
Johnson graduated from Forest Park High School last month. His death has been ruled an accidental drowning.
It happened about 7:40 p.m. at the abandoned quarry near the Rappahannock River off Wicklow Drive, said city police spokeswoman Natalia Bledsoe.
Johnson was swimming with a group of friends that included three young women ages 15, 17 and 21 years old.
“The victim and one of his friends were swimming toward a rope swing when the victim began struggling in the water,” Bledsoe said in a news release.
The friend and other people at the quarry attempted to save him, but could not.
Emergency crews arrived within minutes. Divers with Fredericksburg police and Stafford County found the victim in the water approximately 45 minutes later.
“As all available life-saving measures were applied, the victim was rushed to Mary Washington Hospital. He was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later,” Bledsoe said.
“Witnesses on the scene are to be commended for their efforts in attempting to rescue the victim,” Bledsoe said.
The old Fredericksburg Quarry is on private property and is posted with no trespassing signs. Despite this, and the “relative difficulty posed in reaching its location,” it’s a popular site for swimming, Bledsoe said.
Police plan to increase patrols around the quarry after Monday night’s incident.
Anthony Johnson Jr. was a 2014 graduate of Forest Park High School.
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