DECATUR, Ga. — An attorney representing the family of a child who drowned at the Oakhurst Pool on Sept. 19 said three lifeguards were on-site when the incident occurred.
The family wants answers about what happened to 2-year-old Poppy Pepper of Dacula. Her mom is a swim coach and she was there with her other two children for an event when her child drowned.
“As far as I know, the only people that were there were just the family and the lifeguards,” attorney Natanya Brooks said.
The city uses a private contractor to provide lifeguard services at the pool. According to the city’s website, the pool is open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. In a news release, the city said that Decatur Fire Rescue responded to 450 East Lake Drive at 3:55 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19, after a report of an unresponsive child. The city would not say whether Pepper drowned, but Brooks confirmed that she did.
But the family wants to know how this could have happened when three lifeguards were there at the time.
Brooks was a Division I swimmer at Georgia Tech and knows about the sport.
“There should always be eyes on a pool if there are people at the pool. If there are kids on the deck, there have to be eyes on the pool, because this drowning happens so fast,” she said. “This happens in a matter of minutes.”
It’s unclear where the lifeguards were when the incident occurred.
“These are questions that we have to figure out answers to, and there will be an investigation to know exactly what happened,” Brooks said.
Pepper’s mother was there for a “fall kickoff” event scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Oakhurst Pool, Brooks said. Pepper’s older sibling noticed her in the pool and contacted a lifeguard. Her mother performed CPR and staff at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta worked for hours to save her life.
Poppy was a child full of love who never met a stranger. Her family doesn’t want her life to be reduced to a name in an investigation, Brooks said.
She said the family hired her to represent them, but she would not say whether there would be a lawsuit related to the child’s death.
“I don’t know what will come out of it. It’s just too early,” Brooks said. “But I do know that in addition to families always wanting answers as to what happened to their loved one, also families never want other people to go through the same thing. If this was something that was preventable, then the family doesn’t want anybody else to have to suffer and go through this.”
Decatur says the incident remains under investigation. In response to an open records request from Decaturish, the city released a police incident report about the case. Most of the report was redacted on the grounds of the pending investigation. Decaturish has filed additional records requests.
“Our thoughts are with the family, loved ones, and all those impacted during this difficult time,” the city said in a news release about the incident. “Out of respect for the investigation and those impacted, Oakhurst Recreation Center and Pool will remain closed until further notice.”
A GoFundMe established to support the family has raised more than $30,000.
FILE PHOTO USED FOR ILLUSTRATION PURPOSES. The indoor pool at the Oakhurst Recreation Center.
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