Goldsboro child dies after pool accident in Durham

Elaina Athans Image
Monday, June 16, 2014
Family grieves loss of 7-year-old discovered face down in pool
Seven-year-old Jamarcus Graham, of Goldsboro, passed away Sunday morning after he was found floating face down in a community center pool.

DURHAM (WTVD) -- A local family is coming to terms with an immense loss.

Seven-year-old Jamarcus Graham, of Goldsboro, passed away Sunday morning after he was rushed to Duke Medical Center Hospital.

Jamarcus Graham

The little boy was found Saturday floating face down in a pool at the Brightleaf Community Center.

"He was just a baby and I've got kids of my own," said Laura Smathers, an eyewitness. "And it's just something that you can't ever unsee."

Police say the little boy was at the pool with a guardian and was attending a pool party when the accident happened.

"As a parent, it's just something that you just don't ever want to see," Smathers said. "I'm just praying really hard for that family right now."

The little boy was from Goldsboro and both of his parents live there. It was around 3 p.m. Saturday when someone started yelling to call 911. A doctor just happened to be at the pool at the time.

An eyewitness told ABC11 over the phone that the doctor was doing chest compressions from the second the child was pulled out of the water. The eyewitness said she was holding the little boy's hand as the doctor worked.

Smathers said the boy had only been at the pool for about 15 or 20 minutes before he was found in the water.

"Everybody responded really quickly and there was medical professionals here and that started CPR right away," Smathers said. "And they did everything that they possibly could. I mean it was just a horrible tragedy."

Management at the Community Center echoed the same sentiment, calling the accident a "sorrowful tragedy."

Police don't believe anything suspicious happened, but they are still investigating.

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