Special needs student drowns in swimming pool on school field trip in front of his mother



Erick Ortiz, 16, drowned during a field trip to Atlantic Park in East Los Angeles

He was a special needs student who had a teaching assistant assigned to watch him at all times

Ortiz's mother was called and she rushed to his side as paramedics performed CPR

He was transferred to hospital where he died

He was reportedly fully clothed when he went into the water; it's not known if he fell or was pushed

The Ortiz family is accusing the Los Angeles Unified School District of negligence

A 16-year-old special needs student has drowned during a class field trip in East Los Angeles to the horror of his mother, who rushed to the boy's side.



Field trip tragedy: Erick Ortiz drowned while visiting a recreation park on a school trip

Erick Ortiz was pulled from the deep end of the pool at Atlantic Park by lifeguards on Wednesday afternoon.



The Garfield High School student was taken to hospital but pronounced dead a short time later.

Witnesses say the victim's mother rushed to his side as lifeguards performed CPR on the boy.



'I heard screaming and I knew it was the mother because she was screaming for her son. Why, why did this happen to her son? Who wasn't watching him?' witness Ana Serrano told NBC.



Students were swimming at Atlantic Avenue Park. The small park has gardens and a 50-meter, six-lane swimming pool.



'I saw teachers running toward the boy to see what was wrong and the lifeguard began CPR,' Serrano told NBC.

Investigators are unsure if Ortiz jumped into the water or was pushed.



Leslie Ortiz, Erick Ortiz's sister, told NBC that her brother had no intention of going in the water.



'(Erick) went in with all of his clothes on, you know with his shoes on, this is not (how) somebody that’s prepared to go swimming goes into the pool, right? she told NBC.

She said her brother had a teaching assistant who was assigned exclusively to his care.



'That was his one job, to watch him. Where was he? My brother couldn’t even go to the bathroom alone, the assistant had to go with him,' Leslie Ortiz said.



Answers: The Ortiz family wants to know how Erick Ortiz came to be in the water fully clothed and why no one was watching over him

It's not clear where Ortiz's mother was at the time her son went into the water, but Leslie Ortiz says that the teaching assistant phoned the mother to tell her they were attempting to revive her son.



'He went down toward the bottom of the pool, surfaced back up. Appeared to take a breath and then sank back down toward the bottom,' Lieutenant Eddie Hernandez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told NBC.



Attorney Luis Carrillo is representing the family, who want answers as to how Ortiz drowned and why his teaching assistant wasn't watching him.



'The family wants justice, an independent investigation and answers as to why their child was left alone. The family does not want condolences from the LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District),' Carillo said.

