Lifeguards Are Posted at Lake Where Two Brothers Drowned

A day after two young brothers drowned in a fishing pond at a Willowbrook park, lifeguards were on duty to monitor Memorial Day crowds at the county-run facility, but officials had not yet decided whether the patrols would remain beyond the holiday weekend.

A bouquet of roses and carnations drifted across the lake at Earvin “Magic” Johnson Park where Mario Gutierrez, 12, and his 10-year-old brother, Rolando, drowned Sunday after a baby sitter dropped them off to play at the crowded park.

There were no lifeguards on patrol when the brothers died. After a two-hour search, county divers found their bodies lying six feet apart under 10 feet of murky water.

Assistant Parks Police Chief Carl Moore said several lifeguards were posted at the lake Monday “as a precautionary measure” in the wake of the drownings. Aside from Sunday’s deaths, Moore said he knew of five people who have drowned since the park opened in 1982, but all of them were intoxicated adults.

Although swimming is prohibited in the clay-bottomed south pond, only one faded and virtually illegible sign, in English, is posted warning people to stay out of the water. A warning sign is posted at another pond nearby that on Monday drew a slightly smaller crowd.

“We need signs in Spanish,” said Gerardo Reyes, 32. “The majority of kids know how to read English. But the parents come from Mexico and they don’t know English. And they need to pay attention to their kids.”

Some regulars at the park said that children usually play in a shallow stream that runs between the north and south ponds.

But others said they have often seen both children and adults swimming in the deeper parts of the south pond where the brothers died.

“It’s an ongoing problem,” said parks police Lt. Thomas Carroll. “Any time the weather heats up and the park gets crowded, you’ve got people trying to swim in that lake.”

People who live in the area said parents often drop their children off at the park and leave them unattended.

“I don’t blame the county,” said Jerry Taylor, 32. “They built this park for us to relax and enjoy ourselves. There are people talking about putting a fence up. Why do we need a fence? People are out there to fish. It’s not a public pool.”

On Monday, families played soccer and baseball under the park’s eucalyptus and willow trees. Some strung up hammocks and set up tents. Roving vendors sold cotton candy and popsicles.

Amid the festivities, some park-goers were keeping a watchful eye on their children.

“We have to be careful a little more because of what happened yesterday,” said a man who identified himself only as Hernando, who was visiting the park with his two children.