Witness recalls near-drowning at Heritage Hill Pool in White Oak; victim taken to hospital

WHITE OAK, Pa. — A day at a community pool turned frightening Saturday evening at Heritage Hill Pool in White Oak.

The incident happened shortly before 5 p.m., according to 911 dispatchers.

Lauren Vaughn was at the pool with her two children and niece when the situation unfolded.

Vaughn said lifeguards initially cleared the pool after someone reportedly became sick in the water.

“They started blowing the whistle because somebody threw up in the pool, to get people out,” she said.

After swimmers exited the pool, Vaughn and other witnesses said people noticed a man face down at the bottom of the pool.

She believes he may have been there for several minutes before anyone realized something was wrong.

“They just kept yelling, ‘Out of the pool, out of the pool,’ then the lifeguards on the left side were yelling, ‘Get him, get in,’ and the lifeguard on the right side of the pool was like, ‘I don’t know where to go,’” Vaughn said.

Several witnesses, including Vaughn, questioned the response by pool staff.

Vaughn said some bystanders wanted to help remove the man from the water and begin CPR, but lifeguards, they said, would not allow them to pull the man out.

“It was just completely a ball drop from start to finish, and there were so many kids around,” Vaughn said. “The lifeguards couldn’t have been more than 25 years old.”

The incident left a lasting impact on many families at the pool.

“It was definitely traumatizing for me, and I’m an adult,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn said one question continues to bother her.

“If they didn’t call people to get out for the puke, would they have even noticed he was in there?” she said.

The man’s condition has not been released.

Medics took him to an area hospital for treatment.

The pool closed for the remainder of the day following the incident.

Channel 11 has reached out to White Oak Borough officials and the White Oak Police Department to learn more. We are waiting to hear back.

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