Boy Who Begged to Go Swimming Electrocuted in Freak Accident

Antonio Parker, 12, had frequently been discouraged by his family from swimming at the public pool at South Los Angeles’ Washington Park.

“There’s a lot of gangs, a lot of drugs, a lot of everything there,” his great-aunt, Mary Pringle, said Tuesday.

But the Gompers Junior High School student had begged Monday to go to the pool at the county park to escape the heat.

Moments after climbing out of the water, Antonio, a member of the pool swimming team, was electrocuted when he leaned against a metal light pole.

Fellow swim team member Tesfaye Benson, 13, recalled the frightening scene that occurred in front of about 40 youngsters:

“We were all in the pool playing tag, and Tony said, ‘Man, I’m tired; I’m going to hang around,’ and he put his arm around the pole.”

When he touched the pole, he was jolted into unconsciousness and slid into a sitting position, his body still in contact with the metal.

At first, Tesfaye said, other children thought Antonio was just playing. And then, when lifeguard Eddie Ricketts heard the first cry for help, he momentarily misunderstood.

“They said he’s been shocked, and I thought they said he’s been shot. I didn’t hear any gunfire,” Ricketts said. “I ducked. I thought it must be a silencer.”

After swiftly surveying the adjacent park and railroad tracks, Ricketts yelled to other lifeguards for assistance. Their efforts to revive the youth failed, and Antonio was pronounced dead on arrival at County-Martin Luther King Jr.-Drew Medical Center, where he was taken by paramedics.

Sheriff’s Deputy Henry Romero, the first officer on the scene, said the lifeguards “did an excellent job.”

“They didn’t see any blood--that’s what they expected to find . . .” he explained. “We get dope dealers in that park--quite a bit of your normal variety of gang fights, just like all the parks in the area. You hear shots in that park all the time.”

Antonio’s mother, Sylvia Pritchard, said Tuesday morning, “It just happened so quick, so fast. Sometimes you expect things to happen, but all it once, it just so shakes you up.”

Family members wonder whether the facility could have been maintained more safely and whether it should be closed permanently. Antonio’s uncle, Mickey Pritchard, 22, questioned why the light poles are inside the eight-foot-tall wire fence that surrounds the pool.

“Maybe after this, they’ll make that place safer or shut it down,” Pringle added.

The tragedy was termed “a freak accident” by Samuel V. Jones, an assistant director of the county Parks and Recreation Department, who added that the poles at 16 other county pools have already been inspected to ensure that a similar accident will not occur.

Jones insisted that “the pool is maintained in an excellent condition” and denied that any exposed electrical wires were in the pool area.

Although the pool is frequently vandalized, Jones said, “we certainly don’t leave any safety hazards around, at least not knowingly.”

He added that the accident occurred because a cap inside the light standard had loosened and a wire inside was touching the metal pole when Antonio leaned against it. The pole was not properly grounded because of corrosion, Jones said.

Asked why the light poles are located within the pool area, Jones said the pool’s design “complies with the building codes.”

By Tuesday afternoon, the pool had been declared safe and was reopened.

But out of respect to Antonio’s memory, lifeguards said they were unofficially keeping the 13-year-old pool closed for the day.