More details are coming to light after a 27-year-old man was pulled from Naperville’s popular Centennial Beach last week, as lawyer representing the family said they have “very serious questions” about the responsiveness of the lifeguards that were on duty that day.
According to the Naperville Police Department, about 5:43 p.m. Thursday, officers were dispatched to the beach for reports of a missing person who was last seen in the deep end of the pool. Approximately 25 minutes later, lifeguards recovered an unresponsive man, who was later identified by family members as Manuel “Manny” Rosales.
Rosales was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
An initial investigation showed Rosales went into the water with a group of friends who planned to swim to a floating dock in the middle of the deep end. As the group arrived, they noticed Rosales was no longer with them.
After searching the area, the group returned to shore to continue their search, police said. “Lifeguards were eventually notified,” police said, and then activated missing person protocols.
The release went on to say that there was no indication of foul play, and the official cause of Rosales’ death remains under investigation.
In an interview with NBC Chicago, Edward Witas, an attorney hired by the Rosales family, said the family would have expected the lifeguard to clear the pool after being alerted by the group, but that wasn’t what happened.
“The lifeguard would have sounded an alarm. The lifeguard would have done something to search for Manny in the water,” Witas said. “Instead, the lifeguard’s response were, why don’t you go look in the bathroom? Why don’t you go look in the parking lot? … And unfortunately, 30 minutes goes by.”
Witas went on to say that the group of friends called police, who “took control” once they arrived on the scene.
“They finally found Manny’s body 30 minutes after he first emerged in the water,” Witas added.
Witas said family is calling for the safety protocols at Centennial Beach to be reviewed, and that a lawsuit would be filed unless a settlement is reached.
“Better training needs to be put into place,” Witas said. “Lifeguards need to be held to a higher standard. There needs to be principles where if a family member of somebody goes to the lifeguard looking for help, they get the help that they need.”
According to Witas, Rosales is survived by his wife and eight-year-old daughter.
“At the end of the day, there’s provisions that need to be made for the community,” Witas said. “We need to make sure that safety protocols are put into place, and we need to make sure that this facility is safe.”
A statement sent to NBC Chicago by the Naperville Park District, which operates Centennial Beach, offered condolences so the family, but said it did not agree with the attorney’s claims.
“We will not speculate or comment publicly but instead will continue to cooperate with the police investigation into the matter,” the park district added.