Six-year-old Adonis Jackson was one of about 30 children inside a pool on the University of the District of Columbia’s (UDC) campus Monday afternoon when he nearly drowned, according to a UDC police report obtained by News4.
The report states it happened as the pool’s lifeguard was on his lunch break. Adonis was attending a Nike Soccer Camp with FourSoccer, and according to the police report, kids were allowed to go into the pool.
“I was shocked,” said Rosanne Wegman, whose 12-year-old daughter was also attending the camp. “It was horrifying to me as a parent because I had been sending her, you know, all week. If I had known that this situation happened, I would not have sent her past Monday.”
She said she’s angry about what she called a lack of transparency.
“It doesn’t sit well. Not at all,” Wegman said. “Especially the fact that my daughter has been in the pool. She wasn’t in the pool that day but has been in the pool before. And she’s told me that ‘I went on the deep end. It’s 13 feet.’ So thinking about that little boy, it just broke my heart, and it made me so uneasy as a parent.”
Wegman shared an email that was sent out by FourSoccer to parents Monday afternoon alerting them of the incident.
It reads, in part, “A camper experienced a medical emergency in the water. Our staff responded immediately, removed him from the pool, and provided emergency care until medical professionals arrived. I accompanied them to the hospital, and I am relieved to share that they’re expected to be okay…The University is completing its standard incident reporting process and reviewing the circumstances surrounding today’s event, we are working closely with them. Out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to cancel all remaining pool activities for the rest of the week.”
The email was sent by Ben Mortimer, who is listed as FourSoccer’s director on the company’s website. He’s also an assistant men’s soccer coach at UDC, according to the school website.
Mortimer has not responded to News4’s calls, texts and emails requesting comment on what happened.
Wegman said she feels that email underplayed the severity of the situation.
“This is what actually gets me the most angry, is we care about the safety of your children at all times, and that’s our utmost responsibility. Well, if it’s your utmost responsibility, why was there not a replacement lifeguard? Or why was there not a trained adult who, God forbid, the situation occurred and it did, could help this, you know, a child,” she said.
News4 asked UDC several questions, including how were the children allowed to enter the pool or remain in the pool if the lifeguard was on break? News4 also asked several questions about what led up to the near-drowning. UDC did not directly answer those questions but did say that it was deeply saddened about what happened and said its thoughts are with the boy and his family.
The contractor for the camp, US Sports Camps, told News4 it was not running things, but it does provide camp supplies, marketing and registration support for groups like FourSoccer.
In a statement, US Sports Camps said, “We are aware of the incident at the camp held at the University of the District of Columbia, and our thoughts are with the child and their family. This camp is operated by Four Soccer, an independent camp operator, and we are in contact with them as they and the appropriate authorities review what occurred. We are not able to comment on specifics at this time.”
News4 reached out to Dominique Calhoun, the attorney who is representing Adonis’ family, Wednesday night. He said Adonis is in stable condition at Children’s National Hospital. He remains intubated, sedated and continues to undergo a series of medical tests while facing a long road to recovery.
“How could this happen?” Calhoun said. “How could you allow 30 kids in a pool to go unwatched? How could you allow for a kid to be in the bottom of a pool for two minutes? I mean, for anybody watching, I want you to think about how long two minutes is to be underwater.”
News4 also reached out to Nike — whose branding is featured in the name of the camp and the camp’s logos — but has yet to hear back.
D.C. and UDC police continue to investigate the near-drowning.
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