A 17-year-old Long County High School senior drowned Tuesday in a borrow pit on Louvanda Lane, off Joe Kennedy Road in Long County, according to Long County Emergency Management Agency Director Bob Hesley.

Joserath Barahona Perez had been swimming with a friend just before 3 p.m. when he began to struggle. The friend tried to help but was unable to rescue Perez. He went under about 100 feet from shore and did not resurface. AirEvac, Ludowici/Long County Fire Department and the Long County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene, Hesley said.

Perez was set to graduate from high school next week.