MIDWEST TOWN: 01/16/2006 - Sunday morning [victim] was being a typical active eight-year-old boy - working with his dad in the shop, playing basketball with his friends, choosing a present for the pal who was having a birthday swim party at the local YMCA. Sunday afternoon he was dead...he had gone down the water slide and was pulled from the water when he did not resurface on his own. The lifeguard administered both oxygen and CPR but within less than an hour he was pronounced dead.

Compounding the tragedy is the lack of understanding why [victim] died. The slide at the YMCA was well controlled, having a height requirement, posted and enforced rules about use (feet first, sitting up-right, only one person at a time), and proper guarding. The only safeguard not present was verifying that potential users were shallow-water competent and that aspect didn't impact the event as [victim] was more than a foot taller than the 3'8" depth at the bottom of the slide, loved the water and was very comfortable in it...the guards may not have known with certainty that he was shallow-water competent but he was, having prior experience on water slides in other water parks. For a reason no one understands, he wasn't able to demonstrate that ability on this trip down the slide.

There were five lifeguards on duty at the time of the incident. The guard at the bottom of the slide, [name], said that [victim] entered the water feet first in a sitting position just as he was supposed to do, but then he did not make any movements towards the side of the pool. The guard waited about five seconds after [victim] entered the water then went into the pool after him. [Victim] reportedly was under water less than 15 seconds and initially gasped for air when he was brought onto the deck. The combination of oxygen and CPR failed to revive him, however, and he was pronounced dead at a local hospital within the hour.

After the Monday autopsy County Coroner [name] indicated that water was found in [victim]'s lungs and the cause of death was ruled as an accidental drowning. He indicated that there was no sign of trauma to the head, neck, or any other body part. The police also concluded that the death was accidental.

An investigation by Jeff Ellis and Associates, outside experts engaged to evaluate the tragedy, concluded that "These people were properly trained and at the positions that they needed to be." According to Michael Oostman, VP of Litigation Support, and Drowning for Ellis & Associates, "Procedurally, the lifeguards did what they were trained to do." Oostman has investigated about 175 drownings or near drownings over the last 10 years.

• Most of the what
• Nearly all of the who, when, where, and how

• A portion of the what - whether the participants were tested for water competency...but the victim didn't do anything after entering the water...for some reason he didn't have the chance to show whether he was or was not competent
• The why...
  • why did he not just swim to the side like every other time
  • why did oxygen and CPR fail to revive him after such a very quick, very short event

• Drowning refuses to acknowledge or honor swimming competence, experience, or age...anyone can drown. Additionally, the young may have additional issues of limited swimming ability, size, and limited life experience.
• A drowning is normally silent or nearly so. The victim rarely thrashes arms and legs or yells for help. Often the victim's above-water distress will be without obvious sound or visual clue and s/he will slip underwater in less than twenty seconds.
• Height alone is an inadequate control for any entry device...it must be coupled with either shallow or deep water competency, depending on the depth of the water and the height of the participant.
• Testing should generally be required of all pool users...it is even more important for those who want to use entry devices like slides, entry blocks, and diving boards or platforms. In this specific instance, though we are not absolutely certain that he was shallow water competent, competency did not enter the equation as he was in trouble perhaps before and at least almost immediately after hitting the water.