The heartbroken family of a four-year-old Kentucky girl who drowned in a South Carolina resort pool has filed a lawsuit against the vacation spot, where two other children also drowned in just three years.
On April 1, 2021, Demi Williams tragically drowned during a family trip to Crown Reef Beach Resort and Waterpark, reportedly without a lifeguard in sight.
His grieving mother, Destiny Morgan, who was initially charged with negligence over the death before charges were dropped, said she is suing the resort over an alleged lack of safety measures around the pool.
“Something has to be done,” he said. NBC News. “I have to do something in honor of my son to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Demi Williams, 4, tragically drowned in a pool while on vacation with her family in South Carolina on April 1, 2021.
His mother, Destiny Morgan, who was initially charged with negligence in the death before the charges were dropped (as seen in her mugshot), has filed a lawsuit against the complex alleging a series of safety deficiencies.
Morgan said the horror unfolded on the second night of their holiday, after Demi and her two older brothers spent the day playing in the pool.
That night, they were taking a stroll along a lazy river while Morgan sat in a hot tub that spun in circles, and the young girl had only been allowed to ride on the same tube as one of her older brothers.
When she asked to go alone, Morgan said she told the four-year-old to stand in the pool. After seeing that it was shallow enough for her to stand up easily, she allowed Demi to go alone.
But he said he knew something was wrong when Demi’s older sister got out of the vehicle and began frantically searching for her young daughter.
When he got to one of the resort’s pools, which was not in the lazy river, he saw another guest pull Demi out of the water, not breathing.
Because there were no security cameras around the pools, it’s unclear how Demi ended up in the other pool, although her mother suspects she slipped and fell.
Guests at the resort, including a nurse, began desperately trying to save the young woman’s life, and the nurse told Morgan she could detect a very weak pulse.
However, there were no defibrillators – a device that delivers an electric shock to restart the heartbeat – stationed at the pool, and Morgan said she tried in vain to find lifeguards or resort staff to help.
Demi was rushed to the hospital, but was pronounced dead that night.
Morgan said she launched her lawsuit in hopes that others would avoid similar anguish and said she is still shocked by the alleged lack of safety measures, feeling there was “nothing to indicate they gave a damn about a human life.”
Crown Reef Beach Resort and Waterpark in South Carolina allegedly did not have lifeguards, defibrillators or security cameras around its pools, in compliance with state law. Demi’s mother says signage around pools is not enough to prevent tragedy
The Crown Reef resort did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
The South Carolina resort spot is not required by state law to have lifeguards at its pools or stationed on its lazy river, and they are only required on the water slides.
Other pools are permitted to be unattended as long as they have signs informing guests that there are no lifeguards on duty.
State law also explains why there was no defibrillator, as the state Department of Health and Environment said they pose a threat of electric shock if used on a wet body.
NBC News reported that the resort is up to date with state health department investigations and passed its most recent unannounced inspection in July 2023, as all pools without lifeguards had proper signage.
The department added that the signs were also posted correctly in 2021, when five-year-old Shane Chester drowned, and in 2018, when another girl, 7-year-old Malayza Fayall, drowned at the complex.
Fayall’s mother also sued Crown Reef in 2020 on similar grounds and settled in 2023.
While it reportedly complies with state safety laws, Morgan said signage around the pools is not enough to prevent a tragedy.
He said he hoped his lawsuit, which also seeks unspecified monetary damages, will result in security improvements throughout the complex.
“More lifeguards, better lighting, more staff — those are simple solutions that would resolve this,” said Morgan’s attorney, Justin Lovely. “Close the pool at night if you don’t want anyone there during the shift.”
Amy Lawrence, her other attorney, said the “unnecessary” drowning occurred after the resort does not appear to have made any changes to its safety standards since the 2018 drowning.
“There should never have been a second or third death,” he added.
Morgan was initially charged with negligence in her daughter’s death, but the charges were later dropped. Morgan said her arrest came minutes after the death of her daughter.
She said she is still haunted by the tragic loss of her daughter and that her children still suffer from what they saw.
“I still hear my four children pray to this day,” he said. ‘I can hear my oldest daughter saying, “Please wake up my sister, God, please wake up my sister.”‘