Autopsy set today for junior lifeguard who died during drill

Personal Injury News

Article Date: 7/15/2009 | Resource: MLG

Autopsy set today for junior lifeguard who died during drill

“Allyssa Squirrell was 1st junior lifeguard to die in training since Huntington Beach’s program began in 1964.”

HUNTINGTON BEACH – An autopsy is scheduled for this morning for an 11 year-old junior lifeguard who died Tuesday night hours after being run over by a lifeguard boat during training, Orange County Coroner officials said today.

Authorities initially reported Tuesday afternoon that Allyssa Squirrell of Laguna Hills had been slashed by a lifeguard boat’s propeller, but later backed away from that statement, saying the accident is under investigation by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Allyssa was doing routine training with a group of 20 to 25 junior lifeguards when she was injured just before 3 p.m. The junior lifeguards were all between 11 and 12 years old. The group was practicing a “speed drop,” a skill used by lifeguards to reach swimmers in distress as quickly as possible. The lifeguard boat dropped the group of junior lifeguards into the water as part of the drill and then circled to pull them out of the water when it struck and critically injured the girl.

The Huntington Beach Junior Lifeguard Program, which has not seen any fatality since its inception in 1964, will be suspended today but will resume Thursday, said Huntington Beach city spokeswoman Laurie Payne.

“We’ve had a very successful program for 45 years,” she said. “This is the first time anything like this has ever happened. More than 20,000 lifeguards have passed through this program successfully.”
Payne said instructors and the other lifeguards, who are distraught over Allyssa’s death, are still supportive of the program. The junior lifeguards are now halfway through the eight-week program.

The lifeguard boat that hit Allyssa was piloted by a 32-year veteran marine safety officer. Orange County Sheriff’s Department officials who interviewed him Tuesday said he was “extremely devastated.”
Payne said the investigation must take its course. It’s too early to tell whether or not the city will reevaluate its Junior Lifeguard Program, she said.

“This was an accident,” Payne said.

For more information regarding this article please contact:

Jeffrey Marquart
(949)589-0150
jmarquart@marquartlawgroup.com