A 23-year-old lifeguard faces criminal charges after pulling a drowning boy out of a swimming pool and performing CPR, which doctors credit to helping save the boy’s life.
Despite his heroic efforts, Zachary Stein was officially charged with negligent endangerment for his role in the events that took place in a Stamford pool. According to the criminal complaint, Stein was the acting lifeguard at a “splash zone” area of a recreational pool on the day of the incident. There were only about 10 children in the pool at the time, but the complaint alleges that Stein failed to notice that a 5-year-old boy was struggling in the water for about four minutes. Surveillance footage shoes that although Stein was not distracted at the time, he failed to notice the struggling swimmer close by.
“It did not appear that Stein ever looks in the pool to observe any of the swimmers,” court documents allege, despite the lifeguard making a full walk around the pool. A few minutes later, the boy “is just a few feet away, still fully submerged and still motionless, and (the lifeguard) never looks down at him,” the complaint states.
First Of Its Kind Lawsuit
The lawsuit is one of the first cases in the country where a lifeguard has been criminally charged after the victim survived.
“There have been instances where there have been threats by law enforcement to bring charges, but they were never carried through,” said B.J. Fisher, the director of health and safety for the American Lifeguard Association.
After becoming aware of the drowning boy, Stein jumped into the pool, pulled the boy out and performed CPR, which helped to revive the child. The boy was hospitalized from the near-death experience, but he made a quick recovery and was discharged home only three days later.
“He’s immensely relieved that this boy is recovering and has survived,” said Stein’s defense lawyer, Mark Sherman. “Not every accident or mistake is a crime, especially when dealing with first responders,” he went on to tell News 12.
Stein pleaded not guilty during his initial appearance.
We’ll keep tabs on this story as it plays out, but hopefully it serves as a reminder to be very careful around water this summer. Accidents can happen in an instant, and we all play a role in keeping each other safe around swimming pools and at beaches. We hope common sense prevails and Stein avoids any criminal conviction for his actions.
If you need help with a criminal matter of your own, reach out to Avery and the team at Appelman Law Firm today at (952) 224-2277.
