Teen Dies After Apparent Drowning In Brooklyn Park
BROOKLYN PARK (WCCO) -- After a 17-year-old boy drowned Saturday afternoon, former lifeguards are voicing concern about safety standards at a Brooklyn Park water park.
The victim has been identified by family members as Youtee Pour. Pour was pulled from the bottom of a water slide just before 5 p.m. Saturday. He was given CPR and transported to North Memorial Hospital, where he later died.
It's a day that Nick Brezina has been dreading for three years.
He quit working at Grand Rios Water Park in August, because he felt it wasn't safe.
"When I was there, I talked to the owners every day and said, 'We need to have more people here. It's not all right,'" Brezina said.
He claimed, in recent months, it was typical to have four lifeguards on duty. His recommendation when he worked at Grand Rios was for seven per shift.
The slide where witnesses saw the victim go under gets the most attention from lifeguards, according to Brezina.
"There's water falling down on you out of the slide, because it's a two-foot drop from the slide to the water and a lot of kids can get disoriented or confused, not know which way is up or down," he said.
The City of Brooklyn Park oversees the pool regulations and codes. City leaders said that there were six lifeguards on duty at the time of the drowning. The actual state drop slide law reads that there must be one attendant continuously observing and controlling the slide when in use. Grand Rios has one drop slide.
Requests for comment from hotel management were not returned.
