Photo courtesy of Dori Scott/Facebook
A Georgia family is sharing their side of the story after a four-year-old boy drowned during a swimming lesson last month.
On Wednesday, TSR Investigates’ Justin Carter conducted an exclusive interview with the young boy’s parents, Dori and Walt Scott.
Dori said she enrolled her son, Israel, in a week’s worth of supervised swimming lessons with licensed instructor Lexie Currington-Tenhusen. She recalled the woman informing her that parents were not allowed to sit in on the swimming lessons.
Israel only had two swimming lessons, with Dori remaining on the premises by waiting in her car until the lesson was over. However, on June 14, the grieving mother faced a heartbreaking tragedy that no parent should ever go through.
“A lady comes, and she knocks on my window. I’m sitting in the car, and she’s like, ‘Come get your baby,’ and when she said that, she said it kind of rude-like,” Dori explained. “Then I looked at her face, and I just saw like tears in her eyes, so initially I knew something was wrong, and I just started screaming.”
According to WFXG, a nurse performed CPR on Israel after he was found unresponsive in a pool at an apartment complex in Augusta, where the swimming lessons were being held.
Authorities arrived at the scene after 11 a.m., prompting medics to transport the young boy to Augusta University Children’s Hospital of Georgia.
The Burke’s County Sheriff’s Office announced on Wednesday, June 15, that Israel had succumbed to his injuries.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to his family,” the Burke’s County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
At the time, no foul play was suspected, and an investigation was initiated by the Burke’s County Sheriff’s Office.
An autopsy report revealed that Israel’s death was ruled accidental. WRDW reported that his parents retained defense attorney Lee Merritt to investigate the tragic incident and whether Currington-Tenhusen would be charged with civil negligence.
Merritt told TSR Investigates that the instructor used Venmo to reimburse the Scott family the money they initially paid for the week’s lessons. He said Currington-Tenhusen had several complaints against her for not complying with policy guidelines during the swimming lessons.
“She has a list of complaints from the region about her often being distracted, using her son as an employee who’s not consistently on the premises, and not following the policy guidelines for supervising children, so there is a reputation in the community,” he told the outlet.
Merritt also stated that the Burke’s County Sheriff’s Office did not provide the family with a full police report on the incident. He then shared details obtained from deputies regarding Israel’s drowning.
The family attorney told WRDW that Israel drowned during the last 10 minutes of his swim lesson before a new class entered the pool.
While the instructor is known for staying in the pool until the swimmers completed the lesson, Merritt said there was a 10-minute gap between the last time Currington-Tenhusen saw Israel and the time he was found drowning in the pool.
Currington-Tenhusen has not reached out to the Scott family, nor has she offered an apology concerning the young boy’s death.
Dori shared photos of Israel on her Facebook account, saying he was “nervous” for his first day of swimming lessons.
“My big boy’s first day of swim lessons. He said he’s a little nervous.” she wrote in the post.
In a follow-up post, she wrote, “My heart has been ripped out of my chest! I can’t believe that I will never see my baby boy again. Cherish every moment with your babies and hug them tight because you never know. I would have never imagined that I would only get 4 years with my little man. My life will never be the same. Thanks for all of the texts and calls.”
The Scott family said their son loved the water while describing his infectious smile that could “light up any room.”
“He was just friendly, very sweet, very smart. He was just starting to learn how to read and write his name,” Dori said.
She added, “He just loved adventure. He wasn’t scared of nothing.”
Israel’s father also recalled the young boy being excited every time they would take trips to the beach.
“He’s the kind of son that loved beach trips and playing in the water. That was his favorite thing to do, and in our minds, we were doing the right thing in our minds,” Walt explained.
The Scott family received disheartening news Wednesday night when Sheriff Alfonzo Williams of the Burke’s County Sheriff’s Office announced there was a lack of sufficient evidence to charge Currington-Tenhusen with criminal negligence.
The Sheriff’s Office’s findings were sent to the District Attorney’s office for review.