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Male model Charles DeVoe dies; had been in coma after Rockaways surfing accident

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Originally Published:Monday, December 20th 2010, 11:42 AM
Updated: Monday, December 20th 2010, 4:47 PM

Gregory Vaughn

Model Charles DeVoe, 28, has been identified as the surfer who died after being in a coma for more than month after a beach accident.

Wilster for News.

Charles DeVoe is pulled from the water off Rockaway on Nov. 12 after a surfing accident that left him in a coma.

A stunningly handsome male model who spent a month in a coma after a surfing accident in the Rockaways has died, sources said Monday.
Charles DeVoe, 28, had been hospitalized since the Nov. 12 incident. He died Friday.
FDNY divers had to cut DeVoe free after his ankle tether became snagged on a wooden pole. He was in the water for several minutes before he could be rescued.
DeVoe's agent, Jason Kanner, called DeVoe "a lovely kid who was respected and loved by many."
"This is a stunning and tragic loss for all those who loved and cared for him," Kanner said.
DeVoe came to New York in 2004 to pursue modeling and immediately made a splash.
He signed to Major Model Management and posed for fashion photography heavyweights like Bruce Weber, Steven Klein and Mario Testino.
He appeared in ad campaigns for Dolce Gabbana, Abercrombie & Fitch, Anne Klein, Buffalo Jeans, and alongside Brazilian bombshell Gisele Bundchen for Stefanel.
His face graced the pages of magazines such as Details, GQ, Vogue Nippon, V Magazine, and Arena Hommes Plus.
DeVoe, who was from Philadelphia, chose modeling after graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder, said his parents David and Laura Lane DeVoe.
For most of his life, DeVoe was interested in "adventurous sports," like snow boarding, trick cycling and surfing," the family said in a statement.
"He will greatly missed," they said.
The DeVoes spent much of the last month by their son's side at New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center, said Eddie Roth, the superintendent at DeVoe's Astoria, Queens, apartment.
At first it appeared he might pull through, but his condition recently took a turn for the worse.
"They were encouraging. His brain swelling had gone down. His lungs and kidneys were responding. He was responding to them," Roth said.
"It's a shame. Everyone loved him around here," he said.
Neighbors referred to DeVoe as "Tom Brady of Astoria," for his marquee-star good looks.
"He never talked about his job. But he had that look, like he was a model or in pictures," said neighbor Willie Diaz, 55.