Story Published:
Mar 9, 2010 at 2:52 PM PDT
Story Updated:
Mar 9, 2010 at 2:55 PM PDT
A recreational scuba diver abandoned in the ocean off Newport Beach in 2004 never thought he would make it back to shore, so the devout Catholic found solace in prayer, his attorney told a Los Angeles jury Tuesday.
"At some point he knew he was going to die. He just wondered how,'' said Scott P. Koepke, who represents Daniel E. Carlock.
Defense attorneys were scheduled to make their opening statements Tuesday afternoon.
In January 2005, Carlock filed a $4 million lawsuit against the dive shop that planned the April 25, 2004, trip, along with the company that owned the boat and its crew. The trial will deal with his allegations of negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Carlock's story grabbed international attention and his media appearances, all unsolicited, included one on "The Oprah Winfrey Show,'' Koepke said.
Then 45, Carlock was left in the ocean amid foggy conditions roughly seven miles off Newport Beach after getting separated from about 20 other divers who had been aboard the motor vessel Sundiver, owned by Sun Diver Charters, Koepke said.
Carlock says when he realized he was no longer with his "dive buddy,'' he swam to the surface and made many attempts to be noticed, including using his whistle and waving a yellow inflatable tube. But the Ocean Adventures staff, and the captain and crew of the Sundiver, "failed to maintain a proper lookout and notice Carlock in the water,'' his suit alleges.
Sundiver Capt. Ray Leslie Arntz, and Zacarias Reyes Araneta and dive buddy Andy Huber, who were also with the dive shop, failed to account for all divers before leaving for a second dive site, Koepke told jurors.
"Dan watched the Sundiver ship slip away into the fog,'' Koepke said.
At the second location, the boat staff noticed Carlock was gone, but called the U.S. Coast Guard to the second dive site to look for him, not the first site, where he had been abandoned, according to Koepke.
Carlock floated, prayed, took pictures of himself and kept a log of what was happening with a waterproof pencil and slate attached to his wetsuit, according to Koepke.
Mistaken at first as ocean trash, he eventually was rescued after about five hours by those aboard the tall ship Argus, which was carrying an adult supervising crew, young Sea Scouts and Boy Scouts, Koepke said.
He was treated for hypothermia, and the Coast Guard was radioed to retrieve him. Carlock says he was also badly sunburned from being in the ocean for hours and developed skin cancer.
He had the cancerous lesions removed but continues to suffer physical and emotional trauma, according to Koepke.
"What Dan experienced is something no human being should have to experience,'' Koepke said.
RSS Feeds 
You have indicated this comment should be removed.
The comment has been submitted for review. Thank you .