Local man almost drowns in Mexico, recovering in Florida hospital

written by TheFeedWired

July 8, 2025

WINGATE, N.C. — A Wingate man is recovering in a Florida hospital after he almost drowned while on vacation in Mexico. Channel 9’s Eli Brand spoke with his aunt about how the community pitched in to get him back to the states. “My sister called me on Facetime.

She was just screaming and hollering. She told me my nephew, Tarriyen, is on life support,” said Cindy Hailey, the aunt of the victim. It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions for Hailey and her family over the last few weeks.

It all started when her nephew went on a vacation to Mexico with his girlfriend and her family. The trip to paradise quickly turned to a nightmare after water got into Tarriyen’s mask and he almost drowned. He ended up in a Mexican hospital on a ventilator.

“We were just scrambling because I hear the stories of being in a different country, especially Mexico, because of different things, and we were just panicked because we wanted to get him back here,” Hailey said. Her nephew had multiple strokes and has multiple broken ribs from the CPR performed to revive him, according to his aunt. She says the family lived in a state of worry and did everything they could to get him back to the U.S.

They reached out to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico and contacted the White House. Hailey said the hospital in Mexico wanted $10,000 to get Taariyen back home. Hailey said her nephew’s girlfriend’s family stepped up and paid that bill and the community has also rallied.

“Last night I was sitting on my couch and I was looking through my phone at some of the responses and the texts that people were sending us and I sat on my couch and I cried,” she said. A GoFundMe for Taariyen raised nearly $15,000 in just two days. He was able to get that airlift because of the generosity and is now in a hospital in Miami.

Hailey even said she got to speak with him on Facetime. “He was dead and then the scare of trying to get him to U.S. soil, all of those things took place,” Hailey said. “We talked to him.

You could tell he was so thankful to be alive.” Hailey said it is unclear what her nephew’s outlook is, but she is hopeful he will recover. Regardless, she said her faith in the people around her is as strong as ever. Hailey said her nephew is now breathing on his own.