Water park remains closed after drowning in Tinley Park
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Tinley Park water park remained closed Saturday, one day after a 5-year-old drowned there.
It was a heartbreaking start to the holiday weekeend, and it's unclear when the White Water Canyon Water Park will reopen after this tragedy.
Saturday the park district offered a message, extending heartfelt condolences to the family who lost their loved one.
After the drowning Friday, only a few people remained in the park after they closed.
Tinley Park's fire chief said then that park staff pulled a child from a pool, though he did not say how long she had been under water.
CBS 2 is told the girl came to the south suburban facility with at least three adults.
It's not clear how many lifeguards were on duty at the five-acre water park during the drowning.
But we talked with an attorney who has handled drowning death cases in the past.
He says public pool designs have become more elaborate and some codes and regulations don't reflect those changes.
"They take into consideration traditional pools like a pool that's a rectangle or a pool that's an L. And I think today's pools are a lot different than they were, kind of, when some of these rules were originally developed like, for instance, the Tinley Park pool here has a lazy river. It has water slides. It has diving boards," said Brad Cosgrove, a partner at Clifford Law Offices.
Cosgrove says even if administrative codes can be behind, industry standards can change independently.
One thing he'd like to see become a standard practice is wristbands or other visible markings that let lifeguards know immediately when someone can't swim or isn't a strong swimmer.
