Sneaker Wave Kills Man On Birthday Vacationing At NorCal Beach

TRINIDAD (CBS SF) - A sneaker wave killed a Northern California man celebrating his birthday near Luffenholtz Beach, in Humboldt County.

It happened Friday around 11:40 a.m., according to the Coast Guard. The beach is just south of the town of Trinidad.

According to the family's GoFundMe page, 39-year-old Drew Machi was on vacation with his wife and children and it was his birthday. He was fishing on the rocks when the wave "grabbed and threw him into the ocean."

A family member described the tragic events, saying Machi's wife jumped in to save him, but he was "about 15 feet out and the water was throwing her back into the rocks. She ran for help but he died."

According to the Coast Guard, a helicopter located Machi, hoisted and flew him to a nearby hospital.

Sneaker waves are "deadly, larger-than-average swells that strike without warning," according to the National Weather Service. "They follow a quiet wave period and often surge dozens of feet higher than expected and "kill more people than all other weather events combined."

The NWS says, "It is this calm that lulls people into a sense of security. Survivors all say the same thing: They thought they were far enough from the surf to be safe. They never saw the wave coming."