COLUMBIA (WACH) -- Richland County Coroner Gary Watts says Won Woo Choi drowned after trying to cross the Saluda River near the Riverbanks Zoo Friday afternoon.
Watts says Choi a USC foreign exchange student and a few of his friends started across the Saluda River to a rope swing.
Watts says Choi was having a hard time making it across the river.
Someone was able to pull Choi to shore and performed CPR on him.
Choi was transported to Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital where he later died.
An autopsy performed Saturday morning shows Choi died from asphyxia by drowning.
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