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A 4-year-old boy who expressed his fear of drowning ended up drowning during his swimming lesson in Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
Israel ‘Izzy’ Scott had asked, “what if I drown” before his second swimming lesson which ended with his death, his devastated mother said.
The youngster was taking a beginner’s swim class in June when he died.
His death has led mourners to seek to change laws that protect children against drownings under instructor supervision.
“We are determined that our sweet IZZY’s death, will not be in vain,” according to a GoFundMe page for the Israel ‘Izzy’ Spencer Scott Foundation.
“Izzy’s death has touched so many hearts, many people have reached out wanting to be a part of this process with us in honor of our Izzy.”
Dori Scott said she and her son were on vacation when she decided to book lessons for him.
She said: “I was telling him, ‘you’re going to be swimming’, and he was so excited because he always wanted to swim. He always knew the danger of water but he loved it so much.”
As Dori was getting her son dressed before his second class, he said, “Why am I putting that on?”
“I told him he had a swim lesson and he said, ‘I don’t wanna go’, but was in a happy mood,’ Dori said.
“He asked, ‘but what if I drown’, and I said, ‘you’re not going to drown, silly’, and he laughed it off.”
Dori took Israel to a private home in Hephzibah, about 15 miles south of Augusta, for the lesson and waited in her car for the session to finish.
The instructor “told me the parents weren’t allowed to stay because I guess the kids didn’t act right” with them around, Dori said.
As Dori sat in the car, a parent knocked on her window and said, “Come get your baby”.
“It wasn’t time – they still had about six minutes left. I looked at her again and saw tears in her eyes,” Dori recalled.
“That’s when I started screaming because I figured something was wrong. My whole life changed in a matter of moments.”
The panicked mum rushed inside “crying and screaming” to find Israel unconscious on the poolside receiving CPR.
She recalled: “He was unresponsive. I could tell by looking at him that he had been under the water for some time because he was foaming at the mouth and had no heartbeat.
“I asked the swimming instructor what happened and all she could tell me was she didn’t know. She said ‘I don’t know. I told the kids to get out of the pool. I don’t know’.
“I stood at the pool screaming ‘let me hold my baby’.
“They wouldn’t let me hold him of course because they were doing CPR and chest compressions. I have so many unanswered questions.”
If there’s a swim class where you have to leave your child, I don’t care what they tell you, you should be allowed to watch your baby.
Israel was then rushed to Burke Medical Center nearby before being transferred to the Children’s Hospital of Georgia.
Although doctors found his heartbeat, a CT scan confirmed that the tragic four-year-old was already brain dead.
He sadly passed away in the early hours of June 15 this year, leaving her husband Walt, 37, daughter Paris, 12, and youngest son Noah, three, heartbroken.
Dori said her young kids are immensely “struggling” with the loss of their brother while Noah asks: “Mom, when is he coming back from heaven?”
She has now launched a campaign for new laws in her state to dictate an adult-to-child ratio at swim lessons.
The 35-year-old has also urged parents never to leave their children alone at the pool – even under the supervision of instructors.
“I would tell other parents to never leave their kids,” the mum said.
“If there’s a swim class where you have to leave your child, I don’t care what they tell you, you should be allowed to watch your baby.
“I never received an apology. We’re now looking at getting a law in Izzy’s name to save other children.
“Never leave your child with any instructor, even if they have experience.”
Burke County Sheriff’s Office confirmed they attended a property in Hephzibah, Georgia, on June 14 amid reports of the “possible drowning of a child”.
