Student Found Unconscious in Lake Stevens High School Pool Removed from Life Support

Fedrick Nifasha - the student who was found at the bottom of a Lake Stevens High School pool on May 31, 2013 – died June 9 after he was removed from life support equipment following physicians’ recommendations, his family announced Monday in a news release. He died at 4:21 p.m. at Providence Hospital Everett.

“Fedrick’s mother and father wanted me to extend their thanks for the outpouring of sympathy and offers of assistance that the community has so been so quick to offer,” said Sim Osborn, an attorney representing the family. “No parent should have to suffer the anguish of burying a child, and the lengths that Fedrick’s parents have gone to give their children a better life makes this even more heartbreaking.”

The Nifasha family immigrated to the United States after spending years in a refugee camp in Tanzania, fleeing longstanding violence in their native Burundi. Nifasha was enrolled in a Lake Stevens School District special education program and was at the Lake Stevens High School pool as part of a field trip.

According to Osborn, the family is attempting to understand how Nifasha was allowed to participate in a school-sanctioned swim outing. “Fedrick was a special-needs student who could not swim, something his program knew. What makes this even more distressing is that Fedrick had very limited English language skills, making him more dependent on those charged with caring for him.” 

According to news reports, Nifasha was found unconscious at the bottom of the Lake Stevens High School pool on May 31, and had been in a coma since with no chance of recovery. Physicians have told the family that it appeared Nifasha had been underwater for a considerable amount of time, said Osborn.

“Our preliminary investigation tells us that the only reason they discovered Fedrick at the bottom of the pool was because the school staff noticed a student missing when they prepared to leave the school,” Osborn said. 

“This raises so many questions: How could have Fedrick gone unnoticed for so long, and why did it take so long for supervisors to be aware he was missing from his group?” asked Osborn. “The more we learn about the circumstances surrounding this tragedy, the more it appears it was entirely avoidable.”

“The big question is why someone who couldn’t swim or speak English would be put in such a situation—particularly considering his parents never signed a permission slip for the trip.” 

“Our hearts are broken by the loss of such a wonderful son and brother,” said Emmnuel Dismis, Nifasha’s father. “He’d already been through many challenges in his life and was looking forward to a bright future in the U.S. It seems so senseless that he could have been taken from us at such a young age.”