Family of drowned Virginia summer camper files $100 million wrongful death lawsuit

The family of King Sha'Mar Overton blames the summer camp for letting the 9-year-old into a pool even though he didn't know how to swim.RICHMOND, Va. (CN) —Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump filed a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit Friday on behalf of a 9-year-old who drowned at summer camp.​LaTaisha Johnson dropped her son King Overton off for his first day at SwimRVA, a summer camp program that teaches children to swim in Henrico County, this past June 15, hoping he would learn to swim before a trip to South Carolina.​"Well, he’s in the right place, don’t you worry," a staff member told Johnson.​Johnson claims she told camp staff in person and in writing that Overton couldn’t swim, but they somehow allowed him into the pool that afternoon without a buddy or direct supervision during free swim. Overton drowned and remained submerged underwater for at least 10 minutes before another camper spotted him.​"She was trying to do everything in her power to protect her baby. I mean, that’s why we send our children to swim lessons," Crump said at a press conference outside of the Richmond courthouse surrounded by Overton’s family, friends and classmates. “The fault, the blame, the liability is on SwimRVA.”​Johnson and Overton’s sister, Khalil Hart, accuse the camp, its counselors and its lifeguards of gross and willful negligence. Crump said he took the case because it shocked his conscience and because he hopes it will prevent future drownings in similar circumstances. Crump and his firm have represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, Sonya Massey and Georgy Floyd.​"How does a kid drown at swim lessons with other swim instructors there?" Crump asked.​According to attorney Mark Krudys, who also represents Johnson and Hart, the pool was supposed to have at least two on-duty lifeguards but had only one, who wasn’t facing the shallow end when the drowning happened.​"That chair had been abandoned, and it has been previously abandoned before," Krudys said of the shallow-end lifeguard chair.​Johnson particularly blames a large inflatable play structure in the middle of the pool that eyewitnesses claimed blocked the lone lifeguard’s view of the shallow end. Eyewitnesses from another group using the pool said they spotted multiple camp staff members talking amongst themselves and not looking at the pool before the drowning.​A bystander who doesn’t work for SwimRVA lifted the unresponsive Overton out of the pool. A nurse who happened to be at the pool attempted CPR for 10 minutes to no avail.​"King’s lungs were full of water; he’s heavy; they pull him out of the water and water and foam came out of his mouth," Krudys said. “The off-duty nurse states that his lungs were so filled with water she couldn’t feel like she was getting oxygen inside.”​A teacher associated with another group using the pool claims a man who appeared to be a SwimRVA manager asked another employee if they would have to cancel a swim meet. At the same time, paramedics cared for Overton in a nearby ambulance.​Johnson claims she found out after the fact that the camp operated without a state license, meaning no state inspector ever visited the camp.“If SwimRVA had signed up as a camp, then the Department of Education would have been there and would have seen, among other things, ‘hey, what’s that large inflated device strapped down right in the middle of the pool obscuring the lifeguard’s vision,’” Krudys said.​According to the Virginia Department of Education, SwimRVA operated in a capacity that required a license. SwimRVA has since adjusted its hours to circumvent the licensing process.​SwimRVA continued operating through the rest of the summer. A poolhouse at the same location burned down in what fire officials described as an accident less than a month after the drowning. Krudys claims that SwimRVA and its employees have not cooperated with the Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and have not talked with Overton’s family.​"We are going to hold them accountable if the prosecutors are not," Krudys said.​SwimRVA representatives did not respond to a request for comment.​"We will get justice for King Overton," Crump said. “Because King was the best that we had to offer for the future.”​Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads