Loved Ones Honor Late Los Angeles County Lifeguard With Paddle Out

SANTA MONICA, CA — Over 100 loved ones and colleagues on Sunday honored late Ocean Lifeguard Derek Traeger with a paddle out in San Pedro.

The 28-year-old died on Aug. 14 in a motorcycle collision after six years with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Lifeguard Division, authorities said.

Sunday's paddle out took place at Royal Palms Beach in San Pedro.

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Traeger is remembered by loved ones as a passionate artist and lifeguard who had a positive influence on his colleagues. He was most recently working on beaches in Santa Monica North, according to LACoFD.

"OL Traeger understood better than most what it means to wear the red trunks. His passion for life, art, the ocean, and his lifeguard family was evident in every moment he lived," the department said.

"LACO Lifeguard division just lost one of its most influential natural born leaders. Traeger was a [darn] good lifeguard, a craftsmen, he was a unifier, he lead by example, and he didn’t shy away from any challenge he was faced with. I can only hope my kids follow Traeger’s path," one person wrote on social media.

The department had a procession to honor Traeger on Aug. 16 as his body was transported from the coroner's office to a funeral home in Lomita, ABC7 reported.

Traeger was fatally struck by a vehicle on the northbound San Diego (405) Freeway near Artesia Boulevard in Torrance, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner.