Local

Jacksonville mother concerned about broken gate at swimming pool where her son drowned

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville mom is on a mission to clear out a swimming pool where her 2-year-old son drowned more than a decade ago.

LaTosha Roberts said the pool at Grassy Pond Apartments is a concern because it’s not properly fenced in. She tells Action News Jax she fears another accidental drowning could happen.

The torn down fence is now exposing a tarped pool, which has Roberts sounding the alarm for safety concerns.

“When I saw the gate was down, I thought to myself, 'This can’t happen again,'” Roberts said.

Roberts said 13 years ago, her son, Colby Smith, drowned in this very same pool.

“My son was the second person that actually lost his whole entire life, but the first baby was able to be saved,” Roberts said.

Roberts is using her pain as her mission to educate parents about safety concerns surrounding swimming pools.

“We don’t know when that last chance will be. We could turn away for 10 seconds, and that child is gone,” Roberts said.

We found kids’ toys lying in the center of this tarp, enticing children to come and play. It's a problem Roberts said she’s been battling with managers at this Westside apartment complex about for years, after this pool closed.

“Why not turn it into a playground? So they can come out and be comfortable and we won’t have any accidental drownings,” Roberts said.

We tried calling management and knocking on their door, but no one answered. Roberts said city council members sent her a message saying code enforcement will be investigating why the gate is torn down.

“I don’t want anyone to suffer the lose that I’ve suffered. I just want to make sure that this is not something that’s happening over and over again,” Roberts said.

Action News Jax has reached out to the city about this investigation on Wednesday. Once we hear back from city leaders, we’ll update this story.