Left inset: Sy’mir Draco Vinson (Taylor Funeral Home of Chattanooga). Right inset: Deshundre Vinson (Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Tennessee apartment complex pool where authorities say Sy’mir Draco Vinson drowned (WTVC/YouTube).
A 4-year-old Tennessee boy drowned at an apartment complex swimming pool after a 9-year-old child reportedly opened the gate without a key or access device, according to a lawsuit. The boy’s uncle, who was allegedly responsible for supervising him, now faces a murder charge.
The wrongful-death complaint filed by Sy’mir Draco Vinson’s mother alleges that the pool gate could be opened by a young child with little effort. It also claims that no certified lifeguard or other adult pool employee was present when the tragedy occurred.
“Tragically, Draco fell into the pool in water that was over his head,” the lawsuit says. According to the complaint, surveillance video captured the child struggling for roughly two minutes before disappearing beneath the surface.
Draco was visiting The Reserve at Mountain Pass on Aug. 16 with his 6-year-old brother and three other boys. He had been staying with his uncle, Deshundre Vinson, a former “America’s Got Talent” contestant who, according to the complaint and police, was at the complex as an invited guest of a tenant.
Police say Vinson was expected to supervise the children. However, text messages cited in an arrest affidavit allegedly show inadequate supervision and a delayed response once Draco went underwater, local ABC affiliate WTVC reports. The affidavit also states that children under 14 were required to have adult supervision at the community pool.
The child reportedly remained submerged for approximately seven minutes before someone saw him and removed him from the water.
By then, the complaint says, it was too late to save him.
An ambulance took Draco to a nearby hospital, where he spent several days in intensive care. His mother says he died on Aug. 20 from injuries caused by the drowning.
The lawsuit describes the pool gate as an unsafe condition on the property. It alleges that the gate’s closing, latching or locking mechanisms did not stop very young children from entering without a key, another access device, adult help or supervision.
The complaint says the pool sat next to a playground inside an apartment community where many young children lived, visited and played.
Vinson has been charged with first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated child abuse.
Draco’s mother filed suit against The Reserve at Mountain Pass, LDG The Reserve at Mountain Pass and LDG Development. She alleges the defendants failed to keep the pool enclosure safe, did not provide the supervision required by law and maintained a pool that was deeper than its posted warning sign indicated.
The lawsuit claims the pool’s actual maximum depth was greater than the 3-foot, 6-inch depth listed on the posted sign. Draco was about 3 feet, 8 inches tall, the complaint says, meaning the water was over his head when he fell in and later sank beneath the surface.
Draco’s mother cites Tennessee and Chattanooga rules addressing pool barriers, self-closing and self-latching gates, qualified pool operators and certified lifeguards. Her complaint alleges that the apartment complex’s failure to install an effective barrier and provide proper supervision violated those safety standards and amounted to negligence. It further argues that the expense of preventing young children from entering the pool or hiring a lifeguard would have been modest compared with the foreseeable risk of drowning.
“The cost of providing and maintaining an effective pool-access-control measure capable of preventing small children from entering the pool area unsupervised was slight compared to the foreseeable risk of a child drowning,” the complaint states. It makes a similar argument regarding the cost of hiring a lifeguard or adult pool operator.
According to the lawsuit, the alleged safety failures allowed Draco to reach the pool and contributed directly to his drowning and death.
Video referenced in the arrest affidavit allegedly shows Draco moving along the pool’s edge from the center area toward deeper water. He appeared to lose his footing, struggle and then slip beneath the water.
Vinson gained national attention as a member of the R&B group Citi Limitz, which performed on “America’s Got Talent” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” His attorney has said the drowning was accidental rather than intentional and called it a devastating tragedy for the family, according to WTVC.
The post 4-year-old ‘sank’ to bottom of apartment pool, drowned after another little boy opened gate ‘easily’ while uncle left them unsupervised: Lawsuit first appeared on Law & Crime.
