NC man dies after Oak Island wave breaks his neck

OAK ISLAND, NC (WECT) - A Raleigh man died Friday after a powerful wave hit him at Oak Island Thursday.

Oak Island Water Rescue Chief Tony Young confirms teams pulled a man from the water around 5:45 p.m. Thursday. Chief Young says when they pulled the adult male from the ocean, he was alive but not responsive.

Oak Island Fire, EMT and police were also called to the scene.

On Saturday, WRAL identified the victim as 37-year-old Lee Dingle of Raleigh and confirmed the man passed away on Friday. WRAL reports Dingle was in the ocean playing with his children when a wave forced his head to the ground, broke his neck and ultimately deprived his brain of oxygen.

“A powerful wave at the beach, something totally unexpected,” a friend of the Dingles, April Schweitzer, told WRAL. “There was just too much swelling to do anything for him.”