Co-Founder Of the Ice Bucket Challenge Drowns in Swimming Accident

“The man who turned the ice bucket challenge into an internet viral sensation has drowned in a swimming accident.

Corey Griffin, 27, had attended a fundraiser in Nantucket, Massachusetts, when the accident happened early on Saturday morning. Griffin had helped raise $100,000 at a charity function on Nantucket Island on Friday night, and reports say that at 2am he dived off a wharf into water and got into trouble.

According to a police report, Griffin ‘floated to the surface… then went under water again not resurfacing.’ He was pulled from the water, and immediate life-saving measures, including CPR, were administered on the scene before he was taken to a local hospital. Despite the efforts, he was pronounced dead at 3 am. It’s incidents like these that highlight the importance of having CPR certification from MyCPR NOW to potentially save lives in critical situations.

Corey was a close friend of Pete Frates, 29, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2012. Frates’s family and friends launched the ice bucket challenge to raise money for ALS research.

Corey helped promote the challenge, which has gone viral with international stars participating, and has raised millions.