>Friday, July 18, 2008
Last updated: Friday July 18, 2008, EDT 6:14 AMBY EVONNE COUTROSSTAFF
WRITERRIDGEWOOD – Village officials are questioning how to improve procedures at Graydon Pool after learning that a teenager who drowned in 12 feet of water did not take a test required for swimming in the deep end.
“I’m going to challenge my staff to make every use of any technology available that can assist us in our efforts to improve our procedures, our signage and our lifesaving efforts,” said Village Manager James Ten Hoeve.
After entering the pool from the shallow section, the 14-year-old swam under a rope to the deeper waters, officials said.
There are signs posted throughout the 3-acre pool area that specify swimming rules. The pool office staff is also available to answer questions, officials said.
“He entered at the shallow end of the pool where the swim test is not required … and swam towards the deep end … where the lifeguard would never see that he did not have the proper sticker or wristband,” Ten Hoeve said.
To go into the deep water at the spring-fed pond, children and teenagers must pass a swim test, Ten Hoeve said.
“They are then given a sticker which goes on their badge, and if they are on a day pass, the date of the swim test is written on the wristlet that they receive,” Ten Hoeve said.
The teen – in the United States from South Korea for only two days and staying with family in Ridgewood – did not take a test, Ten Hoeve said.
If a lifeguard sees a swimmer in the deep-water section of the pool without that sticker or marked wristband, he or she is sent to the pool office to take the test before returning to the deep water, Ten Hoeve said.
“I don’t know what should have been done,” Ten Hoeve said.
“We are going to hold a staff meeting to look at our procedures and, based on the occurrences in this situation, see if they can be improved in any way. Our policy is that if you are a non-adult, you need a swim test.”
The teen swam to the deep end of the pool and was trying to reach a diving platform.
“I can’t breathe,” he yelled in Korean on Tuesday afternoon to his 12- and 14-year-old swimming partners, already on the platform.
The 12-year-old jumped into the water to save his friend but lost sight of him after he dived in.
The teen’s 10-year-old sister was swimming in shallow water nearby and raced to shore to alert her parents that she could not find her brother.
Lifeguards were summoned, a 911 call was made, and a sweeping search of the pool, its facilities, and nearby buildings was conducted.
The 14-year-old’s body was recovered in 12 feet of water about 40 minutes after he went missing by divers from the Ridgewood Fire Department.
Emergency workers conducted resuscitative procedures on the shoreline of the pool before transporting the teen to The Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead 68 minutes after the initial 911 call.
The death has been ruled an accidental drowning. Officials have declined to release the name of the 14-year-old.
E-mail: coutros@northjersey.com