Family mourns father of 6 after drowning at Atlantic Beach

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. — A family that came together for a wedding is now planning a funeral.

It should have been the best weekend of her life. Instead, a bride is mourning her brother, who drowned at Atlantic Beach hours after the ceremony.

Robert Hickman, a 38-year-old father of six, died at the hospital on Saturday.

Police said the surf was rough when Hickman was pulled under by a wave at 11th Street and Beach Avenue.

Officers said a family friend tried to help but couldn’t reach him.

"It's just been devastating,” his sister, Teleauba Revels-Rains, said. “It's been shocking. We all have kind of been in shock."

It was her wedding Hickman was attending.

Revels-Rains is already back in Illinois, and told Action News Jax her brother was a strong swimmer but no match for the ocean. She’s says she’s unsure about the response times from rescuers.

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"My little brother says it took them a long time to get there but when you are in a situation like that, you know, one minute can easily feel like three,” says Revels-Rains. “He said, like, it took them ten to get there but of course he didn't time them."

A spokesperson for the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department told Action News Jax it took emergency crews just three minutes to get to the water.

A witness said rescue crews did the best they could.

“The first to arrive was the fire department and I don't think they even realized that they were going to be going in the water,” said Madaline Hill. “They just stripped off their clothes and, luckily, one of them had a flotation device. “

Hickman’s sister is asking for prayers for his wife and kids, while she clings to her memories of a man she loved.

“We remember a lot of the good times and it makes you again realize that there will be no more of those good times with  him because he is not here."

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