Estate of Deion L. Smith v. David Lives & Kathryn Lives
On July 12, 2011, Deion Smith and his younger brother were invited to swim in the backyard swimming pool of David and Kathryn Lives, located at 1281 Jeremy Ct. in Forest Park, Ohio. They were granted permission to go by their foster mother, Juanita Jackson, after receiving an invitation to swim from Kathryn Lives.
Author: Gerald M. Dworkin
Date: July 16, 2015
On July 12, 2011, Deion Smith and his younger brother were invited to swim in the backyard swimming pool of David and Kathryn Lives, located at 1281 Jeremy Ct. in Forest Park, Ohio. They were granted permission to go by their foster mother, Juanita Jackson, after receiving an invitation to swim from Kathryn Lives.
The swimming pool is approximately 16’ x 32’. Water depths range from 3’ at the shallow end to 9’ at the deep end. There were steps (Wedding Cake Step) leading down into the shallow end, plus a ladder in the shallow end. There was no depth line or lifeline, separating the shallow end from the deep end, and there was no ladder in the deep end of the swimming pool. There was a telescoping pole with a skimmer net, but there was no shepherd’s crook, ring buoy or throw line for rescue.
After Deion and his brother entered the pool in the shallow end, Mrs. Lives took her dog, Murphy, into the house. According to Mrs. Lives, the two boys were standing in the shallow end of the pool when she did so.
When Mrs. Lives returned to the pool area, Deion began to struggle in about 7 feet of water. Mrs. Lives attempted to assist him by extending the skimmer pole and net to Deion, but he couldn’t grab the pole. She then attempted to reach him with her arm by laying on the deck and extending her reach, but she couldn’t grab him.
By this time, Deion was struggling in the middle of the pool. Mrs. Lives then jumped into the pool but by the time she got to him, he had submerged, and Mrs. Lives was unable to rescue him. She then left the pool area and entered her home to call 911.
Police Officer Carnine arrived on scene and observed Deion face down in the water. He entered the water and pulled Deion to the side of the pool as Police Officer Johnson and a Firefighter arrived on scene. Officer Johnson and the Firefighter removed Deion from the water and started CPR.
EMS arrived on scene and transported Deion to Mercy Fairfield hospital. Once he was stabilized, he was then transported to Children’s Hospital by AirCare.
Deion never recovered from this non-fatal submersion incident, which left him with severe brain and neurological damage. Deion passed away the following February.