Chicago man who couldn't swim drowns after getting into deep end of Florida pool, deputies say

A 20-year-old Chicago man accidentally drowned after he got into the deep end of a Florida pool on Sunday, even though he didn't know how to swim, according to deputies.

The Alachua County Sheriff's Office said deputies responded to a report of a possible drowning just before 6:30 p.m. on July 12 at the Hidden Oaks Mobile Home Park community pool in Gainesville.

When deputies arrived at the scene, they said they found an unresponsive man submerged in the deep end of the pool. Deputies immediately got into the water and pulled the victim from the pool before starting life-saving measures, including CPR and the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED).

Alachua County Fire Rescue responded to the scene and rushed the victim to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Victim got into deep end with child, who also couldn't swim deputies say

In a Facebook post, deputies identified the victim was Gildan Cornelious, 20, of Chicago.

According to the preliminary investigation, which included the review of surveillance video and witness interviews, Cornelious got into the deep end of the pool with an 11-year-old child.

The child was able to get out of the water, while Cornelious failed to resurface.

An adult who arrived at the pool moments later called 911 after realizing Cornelious was under the water, deputies said. 

It was also determined through the investigation that Cornelious and the child didn't know how to swim, and the incident appears to be accidental.

The autopsy will be conducted to determine the official cause and manner of death.

The Alachua County Sheriff's Office will also be coordinating with victim advocates to ensure appropriate counseling is available to the 11-year-old, who witnessed and was involved in the incident.

No other information was released.