Malcolm-Jamal Warner: Doctor describes dramatic rescue attempts

New details on the tragic death of “Bill Cosby Show” star Malcolm-Jamal Warner (1970-2025): A doctor who happened to be at the scene of the accident reports on the dramatic minutes on the beach and his attempts to rescue. “There were only a few people on the beach and the water was very restless” ,. When suddenly the calls to help could be heard, he acted immediately: “I ran to the site, took my surfboard and paddled against the current towards the person where the beach visitors pointed.”

Only after a few minutes did he discover a dark silhouette in the water: “I dab down and pulled out the person,” quoted “Us Weekly” the doctor. Back on the beach, he met another young man who was also exhausted in the sand. “He was a helper without any equipment who tried to save him,” said the doctor.

Initially, US media had reported, citing the local police, Warner’s eight-year-old daughter was also in the water at the time of the accident. But according to an updated statement by the organizo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), this was not the case: Warner played with his daughter on the shore, then left her back and went with a friend, the report said. There both men were carried away by the current. The friend could save himself, but was not.

According to the doctor, who does not want to be named, resuscitation measures began immediately on the beach. “Two other tourists were added and also showed themselves as doctors,” the first aider continues. Shortly afterwards the Red Cross arrived and also used a defibrillator – but in vain. Warner could not be revived and was still declared dead on the beach. The official cause of death suffocates by drowning. His body was identified by forensic medicine and handed over to the family the following day.

Warner was on vacation with his family in Costa Rica. The actor became known worldwide through his role as Theo Huxtable in the sitcom “The Bill Cosby Show”.