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Oct 7, 2006 8:36 pm US/Eastern
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A.A. County Drowning Renews Push For Safer Pools
by Peggy Lee
(WJZ)
The drowning death of one Anne Arundel County child has energized recent efforts to tighten regulations at pools around the state.
As
WJZ's Peggy Lee reports last summer's death of five-year-old Connor Freed, has been the focus of a multi-million dollar lawsuit and new calls for better safety measures at Maryland swimming pools.
It was June 22 when Freed's limp body was pulled from the pool at the Crofton Country Club. He died later at the hospital, and a month after that his parents filed a $20 million wrongful death suit against the country club and its management company.
The lawsuit alleges the country club failed to adequately train their lifeguards and that a defibulator on site was never used.
Freed's mother Debbie Webber, said the family's goal is to, "Save one other family from what we have gone through by starting this foundation and bringing awareness to the United States."
Saturday night the Freed's held a fundraiser to create the new "Connor Cares Foundation." The family hopes to use the new foundation to push legislators to create laws requiring stronger monitoring and regulating of Maryland's pools.
Some politicians who attended the fundraiser say they will stand by this effort. The Freed's say the fundraiser was not just used to raise money but also to raise awareness about safety issues that could save the lives of others.
One advocacy group cites drowning as the second leading cause of death in children under 14.
You can visit the new Connor Cares Foundation online by logging on to http://www.connorcares.org/ or simply
click here.
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