Physical Education Teacher Fired After Student Drowning
Last November the community in Wenatchee, Washington was rocked when a high school freshman drowned during what was supposed to be a normal high school swimming class. Our swimming pool drowning lawyer discussed this case last year. According to the Wenatchee World, the day he drowned, freshman Antonio Reyes was participating in a swim class overseen by physical education teacher Ed Knaggs. Students in the next swim class found the freshman’s body at the bottom of the pool’s deep end. According to an investigation he had been underwater for more than 40 minutes. It was Reyes first time in the pool, and his parents claim that he did not know how to swim. A swim assessment was held a week prior to the class, but Reyes did not participate. Knaggs, a certified lifeguard, was supervising 26 students swimming in the class that day.
On April 20th Knaggs received a letter of
termination from the school district after spending five months on paid
administrative leave ever since the drowning. The letter laid out 15
points showing probable cause for his firing including, failure to
properly assess swimming ability prior to allowing students to swim,
failure to provide close supervision, and failure to recognize the signs
of swimmer distress. He is appealing his termination. Knaggs will
remain the head coach of the Wenatchee AppleSox summer collegiate
baseball team, who’s representative viewed the drowning as an isolated,
unfortunate event.
Wenatchee School District Superintendent Brian Flores
confirmed that Knaggs had been terminated, but was unable to comment on
reasons why due to a pending lawsuit against the school district. The
lawsuit was filed by the Reyes’ family in December. The suit is asking
for $15 million dollar from the school district for criminal negligence
and malfeasance by school officials. Jesse Guerra, the swimming pool accident lawyer at our firm has successfully handled many cases just like this one.
Our swimming pool drowning attorney
was pleased to hear that the Wenatchee school district has announced
that in light of this unfortunate drowning, changes will be made to how
high school swimming classes are operated. From now on a standardized
test will be used to designate swimmers from non-swimmers prior to the
beginning of any swim class. This will help teachers to keep a better
eye on those with less swim skills and make sure they stay in the
appropriate area of the pool. The school district is also adding an
extra lifeguard to each swim class to help monitor the many swimmers.
An extra set of eyes on that many swimmers is always a positive change
that can increase the level of safety in the pool.
Schools across the country hold swim classes, and many
could benefit from changes like the ones the Wenatchee school district
is making. Contact the nationally renowned swimming pool accident lawyer Jesse
E. Guerra Jr. if you or someone you know has been affected by a
drowning accident. Mr. Guerra can help you navigate the legal system
and protect your rights after such an awful accident. Mr. Guerra can
also help you effect real change for the safety and benefit of all
future pool users.
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