A teenage girl from Oregon died after her high school swim team allegedly placed a cover over the pool while she was still inside. Now, her grieving mother has launched a $70 million lawsuit, NBC News reports.
When Liberty High School coaches wrapped up the school swim team's evening practice on November 20, 2019, 14-year-old Nabila Maazouz would ultimately be the only member not to make it back home that night.
The team was allegedly instructed to cover the large outdoor pool with heavy ThermGard pool covers that were rolled up on a storage rack, according to the lawsuit.
The legal document, filed last Tuesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court by the victim's mother, Patricia Maazou, further states that the team members rolled the covers off the rack and onto the water where some of the students, including Nabila, took a cover and swam with it toward the other end of the pool.
The students in the water then swam underneath the cover and took the second one.
Again, Nabila and her peers swam with the second cover toward the other end of the pool. According to the filing, they swam underneath the cover to retrieve the third cover but Nabila never came back up.
"The other swimmers continued to cover the pool, without noticing Nabila Maazouz's disappearance," the lawsuit reads. "Once the pool was completely covered, the swimmers and coaches left the outdoor pool and the lights were turned off."
Her mother waited for her in a parking lot and became concerned when her daughter never showed with the rest of the team. At about 9:20PM, less than an hour after the team was instructed to cover the pool, the mother headed inside and asked the swim coaches where Nabila was.
The body of Nabila, who was a freshman at Oregon Episcopal School, was found underneath the covers in the deep end of the pool at the Shute Park Aquatic and Recreation Center, the document states.
Patricia is suing the city of Hillsboro, the school district, and the city's Parks and Recreation Department for wrongful death and negligence.
She said in the suit that the pool covers were "unreasonably dangerous" as they did not allow the teen swimmers to cover the pool without getting in the water and that the covers created a "dark and disorientating underwater environment" for them.
Patricia has accused the district of negligence for not realizing Nabila did not come out of the pool and for failing to keep track of the students who attended and left practice.
The school district has simply stated that Nabila's death is a "tragedy that we are all still grieving."
"Our hearts and thoughts continue to go out to her family and all who knew her," spokesperson Beth Graser said in a statement.
Another spokesperson, Patrick Preston, added in a statement: "Our hearts remain with the Maazouz family and everyone in our community who has been devastated by the tragic death of Nabila.
"The City of Hillsboro is committed to caring for the safety and well-being of all community members at all City facilities. Because this is pending litigation, we will not be issuing additional comments."
