Man dies after being pulled from pond in Union

UNION, Conn. -- A man died after being pulled from a pond in Union Monday afternoon.

Police received reports of a possible drowning at Bigelow Hollow State Park around 4 p.m.

"They kept screaming," said Juan Ramos, "the guy kept screaming, he was like 'hey hey hey.'"

The park was shut down and evacuated as emergency crews came and went.

When 23-year-old old Dwayne M. Haynes, of Bloomfield,  disappeared underneath the water, witnesses raced to help.

"We dove under and we tried feeling under the rocks and everything," said Ramos, "and then a ranger, he was leading us and telling us what to do...he told us to spread out, hold hands, and dive under and we kept feeling around."

It happened on the crowded beach at Bigelow Pond, in front of families and children, and the good Samaritans never gave up their search until the dive teams arrived on scene.

"After that we climbed a tree," said Ramos. "I was in the tree, another guy was in the tree and were looking down to see if we could find a body, and then other people kept diving in and then I went down from the tree and went back in the water and kept going and going and going."

According to rescuers, the water drops off pretty quickly in the area where Haynes was swimming.

The searchers were searching frantically in six to eight feet of water in the deepest part.

Haynes was found in about 15 feet of water. That is why divers had to come in, and as soon as they went into the water they were able to pull him out.

Haynes did not have a pulse and was not breathing.

"I just started crying because I didn't know what to tell him," said Ramos, "he just kept asking did he die, dada did he die? I don't know, it was just sad."

"CPR was in progress when he was brought from the pond," said Joe Lorenzetti, Tolland Rescue Coordinator.

Two additional ambulances were called for the victim's family who were suffering chest pains.

Meanwhile, rescuers have some safety tips as there is always an uptick of water-related injuries and deaths when the weather heats up.

"Never swim alone, always have someone there that knows where you are," said Lorenzetti, "certainly keep an eye on the young people and do not try and do anything beyond your limits.

For more water safety tips visit the American Red Cross website .