An aspiring medical student was left brain dead after his friends allegedly pushed him into a lake knowing that he couldn't swim.
Christopher Gilbert, 26, was left brain dead after the incident at Lake D’Arbonne in Farmerville on April 14, as reported by The New York Post.
Video footage captures the moment when Gilbert was shoved off the dock, despite his inability to swim.
Shockingly, instead of rushing to his aid, the group of friends looked on passively as Gilbert struggled in the water.
One woman hesitantly entered the lake but quickly retreated, leaving Gilbert to fend for himself.
It wasn't until a patron at a nearby restaurant intervened nearly ten minutes later that Gilbert was rescued from the brink of death.
Rushed to a local hospital, Gilbert's condition was dire, with his mother, Yolanda George, describing him as brain dead upon arrival, per KSLA.
She said: "I was devastated. I felt like my life had ended in that moment. My son is aspiring to be a medical doctor, he got his masters last year. My son is so sweet, the most selfless being you'll ever meet, I was in a terrible state."
She emphasized Gilbert's ambition to pursue a career in medicine, having recently obtained his master's degree in biological science.
Despite the gravity of the situation, Gilbert's friends initially attempted to downplay the severity of their actions as "horse-play."
Even in the aftermath of the incident, they withheld crucial information from George, who was misled about her son's condition.
Eventually, it was revealed that one of the friends, a young woman similar in age to Gilbert, confessed to pushing him into the lake. However, none of them acknowledged being aware of Gilbert's inability to swim.
Personal injury attorney Claudia Payne, representing George, condemned the actions of Gilberts friends.
"To add insult to injury, after pushing him, no one from the ‘friend group’ attempted to go in after him. Instead, two brave bystanders, who have no relationship to Chris, heard commotion and retrieved his body from the lake," she said.
Gilbert has shown signs of improvement, albeit minimal. While he is responsive cognitively, he remains reliant on life support.
His lungs are operating at around 20 percent capacity and he is currently unable to speak.
Demanding accountability for the senseless act, Gilbert's family is calling for the arrest of those involved.
Payne asserted that the friends exhibited criminal intent by knowingly endangering Gilbert's life.
George questioned: "Why would you push my son into the lake knowing he couldn’t swim?"
As per the Daily Mail, she continued: "Everyone knows he can't swim. He jokes about not being able to swim, even when we went to the restaurant the owner of the restaurant stated everybody knows Chris can't swim, he's been coming here for two years he's always joking about it."
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