Wisconsin Teen Drowns on Spring Break in Florida
A community within the city of Wisconsin Rapids, WI, is grieving the loss of one of its members after a teenager studying at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School drowned in Florida at the end of March. Reports from various news sources do not have much information around the incident, and it remains a circumstance very much under investigation as authorities and the bereft family seek to find answers in this challenging time.
We know that the young person was in Florida for Spring Break. Why the teen was in Florida despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is not clear, and it is also not known if they were in the state with their family or if they had traveled down there alone or with friends.
It was on Thursday, March 26th, that the teen, a popular soccer player in his hometown, was swimming in an unknown location. The reports did not mention if the swimming took place in the ocean, a lake, or a pool, and they also failed to mention whether or not the area where the youth was swimming featured anything such as a lifeguard or other individuals responsible for keeping swimmers safe.
Although Florida had yet to issue a shelter-in-place order when the teen was swimming, it had begun taking measures to reduce the number of people congregating on beaches and in other public areas. It is possible that this reduction impacted the presence of lifeguards, making an area which is normally patrolled by a first responder suddenly absent of this key individual.
It is not known who first found the teen or if they were known to be missing before they were discovered. The reports failed to mention whether or not the teen was alive at the time they were discovered and, if so, if they were transported from the area where the accident occurred to a nearby hospital.
Counselors for schoolmates of the deceased are being made available. Due to the coronavirus, these counselors are seeing students on an online-only basis, something that will have an unknown effect on the outcome of the meeting.
It is not known if authorities within Florida are conducting an investigation into the incident.
Sources:
James O. Cunningham
Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.
