Jacksonville residents speak out after teen dies at pool

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – Residents of an eastern Carolina community are speaking out following the death of a 15-year-old at a swimming pool.

What was supposed to be a fun Saturday at the pool took a turn for the worse.

“It was unexpected,” resident Cassidy Milam said.

According to the Jacksonville Police Department, shortly before 4 p.m., fire departments responded to Holiday City Community Homes on Corbin Street for an unresponsive teenage boy.

Upon arrival, authorities said they discovered a 15-year-old woman had been recovered from a swimming pool where bystanders were administering CPR.

Milam said she was at the pool when it happened and was shocked.

“All I saw was a teenager pulling it out after he screamed ‘dead,’” Milam said.

The emergency services took rescue measures, without success. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Everyone in the community felt really sad about it,” said Holiday City resident Devin Strickland.

According to several residents, following the teen's death, Holiday City management sent a text message to residents telling them they needed a seasonal pool attendant. The message goes on to say that the candidate should be ready to start immediately.

This is what Strickland said, despite his good intentions, but which he unfortunately thought of too late.

“After the community suffers a loss like this, instead of taking the opportunity to bring everyone together to support them, which I'm sure this family needs all the support they can get, to send a message requesting another pool attendee prior to an incident, a pool attendee should have already been on staff,” Strickland said.

WITN went through reception to try to speak to management but they weren't there.

Police say the medical examiner's office is assisting in the investigation.

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