A four-year-old boy in Tennessee drowned in an apartment complex pool after a nine-year-old child he was with managed to open the pool gate “easily” and without any key or access device, according to a lawsuit. The boy’s uncle now faces a murder charge, accused of failing to supervise him that day.
“Despite the fact that a young child was able to open the pool gate with minimal effort, no certified lifeguard … or other adult employee was on duty at the pool,” states a civil complaint filed by the mother of the victim, Sy’mir Draco Vinson.
“Tragically, Draco fell into the pool in water that was over his head,” the complaint continues. “Video shows that he struggled as hard as he could for about two minutes, and then he sank under the water.”
Draco was at The Reserve at Mountain Pass on Aug. 16, along with his six-year-old brother and three other boys, while in the care of his uncle, Deshundre Vinson, a former contestant on “America’s Got Talent.” According to the complaint and police records, Vinson was at the complex as an invited guest of a tenant.
Vinson had been left responsible for watching the children, but text messages recovered by investigators point to a lack of supervision and a delayed response once the drowning occurred, according to local ABC affiliate WTVC, which cited details from an arrest affidavit. That affidavit also notes that children under 14 were barred from using the complex pool without an adult present.
Draco stayed underwater for roughly seven minutes before anyone realized what had happened and pulled him out.
“It was too late,” the complaint says.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital by ambulance and spent several days in intensive care before he died on Aug. 20 “as a result of his drowning injuries,” his mother’s complaint states.
“The pool gate was an unreasonably dangerous condition on defendants’ property,” the complaint alleges, adding that “the pool gate’s closing, latching and/or locking hardware was a dangerous condition that failed to prevent very young children from opening the gate and entering the pool area without a key, other access device, adult assistance, or supervision.”
The lawsuit notes that the pool sits “adjacent to a playground” inside a complex where “numerous young children lived, visited, and played.”
Vinson has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated child abuse.
Draco’s mother is suing The Reserve at Mountain Pass, LDG The Reserve at Mountain Pass, and LDG Development, claiming the complex failed to keep the pool properly enclosed, failed to ensure adequate supervision, and that the pool’s actual depth was greater than what was posted.
“The pool’s actual maximum depth exceeded the 3-foot, 6-inch maximum depth represented on defendants’ posted sign,” the complaint reads. “Draco was approximately 3 feet, 8 inches tall. He fell into water that was over his head, struggled for approximately two minutes, and then sank beneath the water.”
The complaint cites Tennessee and Chattanooga pool-safety rules covering barriers, self-closing and self-latching gates, certified pool operators, and lifeguard requirements. It argues that the defendants’ failure to secure the gate and staff the pool properly amounted to negligence and violated those standards. The filing further contends that installing adequate access controls and hiring a lifeguard would have cost little relative to the risk of a child 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, making the same argument about “the cost of providing a lifeguard and/or other adult pool operator.”
According to the lawsuit, these failures directly enabled Draco’s access to the pool and led to his drowning and death.
Surveillance video referenced in the arrest affidavit shows Draco moving from the center edge of the pool toward deeper water while gripping the side. He appears to slip, struggle, and then go under.
Vinson gained national recognition 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 not intentional and called it a tragedy for the family, according to WTVC.
