Shocked ABC News staffers are mourning the tragic death of a doctor and reporter from the network’s medical unit who drowned while on vacation in Hawaii.
Jamie Zimmerman, 31, was apparently alone when she lost her footing while trying to cross the Lumahai River on Kauai’s north shore and was swept out to sea around 4 p.m. Monday. Witnesses called 911 when they noticed her being swept out to sea from the mouth of the river and lifeguards responded to the scene on jet skis. They pulled Zimmerman from the water about 200 yards east of the river mouth, according to witnesses.
A bystander with a pickup truck helped rescuers transport the woman from the beach to a nearby parking lot, where awaiting medics continued CPR. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, according to local police.
ABC News President James Goldston broke the news to her co-workers in a memo Thursday, said she had researched stories for ABC’s medical unit and also offered meditation sessions for ABC News staff in New York.
In an emotional Facebook post, her mother Jordan Zimmerman recalled how the doctor had helped Congolese refugees in Zambia, volunteered in a cash-strapped hospital in India, built classrooms in Uganda, and worked with indigenous people on the Amazon in Peru. Zimmerman also served as a United Nations Global Health representative in Haiti and taught meditation at the U.S. Capitol.
“She was honored with UCLA’s prestigious Charles E. Young Humanitarian Award, was a Rhodes Scholar finalist, and earned the title of Dr. Jamie at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine,” her mother noted. “Jamie wrote for the Huffington Post, Sonima, and Mind Body Green. Most recently she interviewed Deepak Chopra and had planned to collaborate with him on his new project.. All this was in addition to her work with ABC News in their Medical Unit as well as The (Goldie) Hawn Foundation where she trained educators and school administrators to teach meditation to children,” Jordan Zimmerman wrote.
“Sweet dreams, my darling daughter, my sweet pea, my role model, my pride and joy! I will love you forever!! As I repeatedly told you, I was thrilled that you lived life to the fullest. Always know that I will miss you every second, minute, and hour of every day. Until we meet again, my precious one!”
Zimmerman’s last Facebook post updated her profile with a smiling picture taken with Kauai’s north shore in the background.
With News Wire Services
