A mother is seeking answers after her six-year-old Black child with special needs drowned at a youth summer camp in New Jersey, CBS News reports.
Michael Stewart, 6, died last week in a drowning at Liberty Lakes Day Camp in Mansfield Township. A lifeguard reportedly found Stewart lifeless beneath the water and jumped in to save him. Camp staff members attempted to administer CPR to the boy, but he never regained consciousness. Stewart was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Stewart was reportedly assigned an advocate to help supervise him but their whereabouts at the time of the drowning remain unclear. The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and the Mansfield Township Police Department have launched an investigation into the incident.
Enjoli Stewart, the boy's mother, said her son was excited about swimming that day.
“Someone asked me how my day was going, and I told them about Michael and how Michael fell asleep the night before with his goggles on,” she said, “and he was excited about swimming and then my phone rang and I was told I needed to rush to Mount Holly-Virtua.”
The summer camp's owner, Andy Pritikin, said there was more than one lifeguard on duty at the time of the drowning.
“We exceed the lifeguard ratios and standards of the New Jersey Board of Health, of the American Camp Association. We’ve always tried to exceed everything. We try to make Liberty Lake as safe as possible in every aspect,” Pritikin reportedly told parents during a Zoom meeting.
A GoFundMe campaign has been started to support the Stewarts amid the tragic incident.
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