Boy Drowns at School Pool Event

A Glendale, Arizona family and students at a local high school are grieving the loss of 16-year-old Jesus “Jesse” Prado, who drowned at the school pool last month.  

The Ironwood sophomore died May 14th, two days after a classmate pulled him from a pool in Glendale. The boy, with about 50 other students in gym class, was swimming when one of his classmates saw him motionless at the bottom of the pool. Reportedly, Prado had recently learned to swim.

A spokesperson for the pool said the city has an agreement with the school district that swim classes have certified lifeguards, but that the two teachers who were watching the kids from an observation platform were not certified as life guards. Even so, Maricopa County does not require P.E. teachers in Valley schools to be certified lifeguards.

The district is now reportedly reevaluating all pool policies and procedures, and is making changes to ensure that a similar incident doesn’t happen. Currently, the county requires pool operators to have someone to watch over swimmers for every 2,000 square feet of pool surface, but the Ironwood pool is reportedly 5,000 square feet, meaning there was at least one lifeguard missing. As the school district continues to investigate the pool accident, Glendale police also continue their own investigation

A tragedy like this leaves victims obviously grieving, but also frustrated. Who is responsible? How will the family deal with the devastation of losing a love one?  Good counsel is critical in times like this.

The Doan Law Firm, P.C. has extensive experience in water injury and death case as well as water-related litigation. For answers to the tough questions, and advice on the future, contact The Doan Law Firm, P.C. today.