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Playa Chica. Puerto Del Carmen. Lanzarote. Canary. Spain

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A bizarre force of nature ended in tragedy for one North Carolina family who took a trip to the beach.

According to WRAL.com, Lee Dingle was playing with his children in the ocean at Oak Island when a huge wave forced his head to the ground. His neck broke and his throat swelled, causing his brain to be deprived of oxygen.

“A powerful wave at the beach, something totally unexpected,” April Schweitzer, a family friend, said. “There was just too much swelling to do anything for him.”

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Dingle was 37 and left behind six kids.

His wife, Shannon Dingle, wrote on Twitter: “Some heroes – including our kids – tried to save him, but it wouldn’t have mattered what they did. His body couldn’t recover from the initial injury. We met when I was 18 and he was 19, and we’ve been together ever since. I wasn’t supposed to be saying goodbye at 37. I don’t know how to be a grown up without him, but I’ll learn. I just wish I didn’t have to.”

GoFundMe page has been set up for Lee and his family, which has since raised over $150,000 as of Monday morning.

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