SC city sued over teenager’s drowning death in park lake
The family of a teenager who drowned in a Camden city park last month have filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming Camden did not take adequate measures to warn of the dangers of swimming in Kendall Lake.
Jae’lyn Wells, 13, died June 11 at Prisma Health Richland Hospital, the day after Wells was pulled from Kendall Lake when he disappeared under the water while swimming with his brother and a friend.
The lawsuit, brought by Wells’ mother and filed at the Kershaw County Courthouse, said Wells and his brother were unaware of how steeply the lake bed falls away when they entered Kendall Lake on June 10.
Wells, who would have started his freshman year at Camden High School this fall, disappeared beneath the water for at least 22 minutes before emergency responders pulled him out of the water, the suit claims. His brother, age 12, struggled to make it back to shore.
“At the time of the incident, there were no signs or other warnings to caution those who used the park ... that access to the park and to Kendall Lake was restricted or unsafe in any way,” according to the lawsuit, filed by Columbia attorney Richard Detwiler.
City ordinance prohibits children under the age of 16 from swimming in Kendall Lake or coming within 10 feet of the lake without an adult present. The lake is part of the city-owned Kendall Lake Park. The lake is easily accessible to park visitors, is not regularly patrolled by Camden police and lacks accessible safety equipment such as life preservers or lifelines for swimmers, the lawsuit says.
The suit claims at least five people have drowned in Kendall Lake in the time it has been a city park. The city of Camden did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit on Monday.
“The burden of eliminating or minimizing the risk to children... was slight compared to the risk associated with the dangers of the lake and the park,” the lawsuit says.
The suit claims wrongful death and negligence on the part of the city both for Wells’ death and the “severe emotional harm” to his brother for having to witness Wells’ drowning.
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