Bicyclist drowns while trying to retrieve hat from water

HOLMES BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Authorities say a 51-year-old man drowned when he tried to retrieve his hat after it flew into the water as he rode across a bridge in Florida.

A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer who was driving across the Anna Maria Island Bridge around noon Wednesday saw Andy Lewis Milton Sr. go into the water. Witnesses said he was trying to get his hat.

The officer called for help.

Marine Rescue Chief Joseph Westerman says a nearby lifeguard and several boaters assisted.

A boaters spotted something that didn’t look right in the water and Westerman says he took the lifeguard to the spot on a jet ski. Within two dives he pulled Milton from the water.

Paramedics tried to save him, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

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