The parents of a Marshalltown boy are filing suit after their son drowned in a swimming pool at the Howard Johnson’s motel in Omaha nearly two years ago. Attorney James Martin Davis says five-year-old Brian Guevara fell into the pool and disappeared under the murky water.
Davis says the water was “totally cloudy and you couldn’t see the drain. The pool was filthy. This young boy unfortunately fell into the pool and nobody could see him.” Davis says there was a frantic search for the young man.
Davis says: “There were some young high school baseball players that were in the pool and discovered the young man’s body at the bottom of the pool. The pool was closed for health reasons the next day.” Davis says it appears there were a number of violations.
He says: “There wasn’t a certified pool operator. They didn’t maintain the clarity of the water. There was scum and floating materials in the pool. There wasn’t a separation rope delineating the shallow end from the deep end.” Davis says on the security video tape from that day in June of 2006, you see the parents searching for the child and then what unfolded afterwards.
Davis says: “When he fell in, it was like falling into a dark abyss. On the video, you hear a splash and you do see the rescue and an attempt to resuscitate him. You know, it is just heart wrenching.” Davis has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that owned the hotel. The family says the suit is a warning to all pool operators that no one should be allowed to swim if you can’t see the bottom of the pool.