Indiana girl, 15, with epilepsy drowns in high school swimming pool during physical education class
WHITELAND, INDIANA: A high school student from Indiana drowned on Tuesday while taking a swimming lesson at the school pool. Alaina Dildine, 15, was swimming laps at the Whiteland Community High School pool in Whiteland, when she had a "medical emergency." The teen disappeared under the water close to the bulkhead of the swimming facility, according to Superintendent Patrick Spray, who also verified that a lifeguard was on duty at the time.
The pool is closed for the rest of the school year as the teen's friends and family grieve her passing and the local community comes together to assist her surviving family members. The description of a GoFundMe for Alaina's family states, "She was a sweet girl with a heart of gold who would help anyone and now her family needs our help." Although the precise reason of the drowning is yet unknown, Alaina's social media profiles and the GoFundMe both reveal that she had epilepsy.
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Pupil experienced a 'medical emergency' in the pool
Initially, representatives from the Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation said that a pupil had experienced a "medical emergency" in the pool. The student had drowned, according to a subsequent confirmation by the Johnson County Coroner. The school said that the student had passed away "despite the efforts of our staff and emergency responders," as reported by DailyMail.
FOX 59 reporters from Indiana questioned school officials about how long the girl was submerged before being found and removed from the pool. The inquiry is underway, according to the officials, who declined to answer the question. They said, "The specific cause and circumstances surrounding this tragedy are not yet known, and a thorough investigation will take place."
'Our school staff and students are heartbroken'
Spray expressed his sympathies to Alaina's family and the whole community during his speech on Wednesday. "We are grieving alongside this family as they go through the unthinkable," he said, "We grieve with this family as they endure the unimaginable. Our entire school community, and especially our school staff and students are heartbroken," as per reports.
Pupils pitched an impromptu tribute on Wednesday in front of the school's swimming pool. There were gifts left for Alaina, including flowers, cards, chalk inscriptions, and plush animals. Friends of the Dildine family launched a campaign on Wednesday morning in an effort to assist her family with the unexpected funeral costs. The GoFundMe has raised more than $17,000 since its start.