Prominent attorney and CNN contributor drowns while swimming with teen son

A prominent Georgia attorney drowned while swimming with his son when both were caught in a rip current.

Page Pate, a founding member of Atlanta firm Pate, Johnson & Church, and his teenage son were swept out off the coast of St. Simons Island in Sunday, September 11, CNN reported.

Water rescue team responded to a call about “two swimmers in distress” at Gould’s Inlet.

The rescue team pulled Pate out of the water and into a boat. The 55-year-old was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Pate’s son reached the shore safely before first responders arrived, Glynn County Fire-Rescue acting Chief Vinnie DiCristofalo told CNN.

Pate leaves behind a wife and two sons.

Pate was a founding member and board executive committee member of the Georgia Innocence Project.

Pate also served as an expert legal commentator for various media outlets, including CNN, NPR, the New York Times and the Associated Press.