Inset: Adonis Jackson. Background: The University of the District of Columbia campus, where Adonis Jackson was taking part in Nike Soccer Camp when his family says he nearly drowned (WTTG/YouTube).
A Washington, D.C., lifeguard allegedly left his post to get something to eat while more than two dozen children were in the pool, a decision that police and an attorney say ended with a 6-year-old boy nearly drowning.
Adonis Jackson survived the frightening incident, local ABC affiliate WJLA reported, but his relatives say the young boy now has a difficult road to recovery ahead — and they are demanding answers about how it happened.
According to a police report cited in the case, “approximately 30 children” were in the swimming pool at the University of the District of Columbia, where a Nike Soccer Camp was underway. UDC Police said the campers had been allowed to swim at the end of the day, WJLA reported.
The lifeguard assigned to monitor the pool was allegedly not watching the children at the time because he had stepped away to eat, police said.
The police report states that “a child was unresponsive at the bottom of the pool.”
In 911 audio obtained by WJLA, a dispatcher can be heard relaying the emergency: “I copy a 6-year-old male near drowning. Cardiac arrest, CPR in progress.”
The dispatcher then pressed for more details, asking how long the boy had been underwater and how long CPR had been performed.
Attorney Dominique Calhoun, who represents the Jackson family, told WJLA that the child was in the water for more than two minutes.
“To be underwater for that long, to have your brain deprived of oxygen, to have your body withheld from oxygen for that long, can have lifelong lasting impacts,” Calhoun said. He told local Fox affiliate WTTG that Adonis’ mother “received a call” after the incident from a counselor at the camp who told her, “Hey, Adonis has guzzled some water,” which had her thinking “it was something benign and nothing really severe,” the lawyer said.
“[The mom] stated, ‘Hey, I’ll come and pick him up,'” Calhoun recalled. “And that’s when the counselor said, ‘Well, we’re going to take him to the hospital for further review.’ It wasn’t until the moment that she gets to the hospital that she learned how devastating this could have been.”
“How do we get from a soccer camp to a drowning?” Calhoun added, according to WTTG.
In a statement sent to WTTG, the group that runs the camp — U.S. Sports Camps — said, “We are aware of the incident at the camp held at the University of the District of Columbia, and our thoughts are with the child and their family. This camp is operated by Four Soccer, an independent camp operator, and we are in contact with them as they and the appropriate authorities review what occurred. We are not able to comment on specifics at this time.”
Police have not yet made any arrests related to the incident.
“Right now, the doctors are closely monitoring his vitals,” Calhoun told WJLA about Adonis. “He is currently sedated, he’s intubated, he’s had some minor activity, which we’re thankful to God for.”
WTTG reported that Adonis’ family believes he has a long recovery ahead.
The boy’s family is working to determine its next steps, Calhoun added, in hopes of holding people at the camp “accountable.”
The post Boy almost drowns during soccer camp because of distracted lifeguard who left to go eat while 30 kids were in his pool, lawyer says first appeared on Law & Crime.
