JOHNSON Co. — The Johnson County Prosecutor's Office will not file criminal charges for the death of a Whiteland Community High School student who drowned in the pool during PE class in May.
The office announced Monday that an investigation determined "no criminal laws were violated by school employees," during a May 16 incident that resulted in the death of 15-year-old Alaina Dildine.
As previously reported, Dildine drowned in the swimming pool during PE class at Whiteland Community High School.
She was doing laps with other students and went under the water, school officials said.
In Monday's release, the Johnson County Sheriff's Office provided a more detailed timeline of the incident based on interviews with school staff that can be read below:
9:37 a.m. - Swim Class begins and student enters the pool
10:18 a.m. - Female student goes below the surface under the bulkhead that separates the swimming lanes and diving well
10:30 a.m. - The class completes and students are released. The student who went below the surface is still unnoticed.
11:01 a.m. - The next class enters the pool area.
11:10 a.m. - A male student notices the student who went below the surface.
11:11 a.m. - Drowning victim pulled from the pool and CPR was started by school employees
11:12 a.m - Law enforcement and emergency medical personnel were dispatched to the school on the report of a drowning.
11: 47 a.m. - The drowning student is pronounced deceased by medical staff.
"The student went unnoticed for approximately 52 minutes," the Sheriff's press release states.
An autopsy found that Dildine suffered a seizure and drowned. The manner of her death was ruled accidental.
Although, the prosecutor's office is not filing charges for the incident, they said that to determine whether any negligence by school officials contributed to Dildine's death, "such a determination would need to be made in the civil justice system."
Alaina Dildine's parents, Kyle and Victoria Dildine, issue the following statement on the decision:
We would like to thank the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department and Prosecutor for thoroughly investigating the circumstances surrounding Alaina’s death. We are still in shock at the loss of Alaina, and we are trying our best not to feel angry...but it is hard. As we continue to mourn, we ask the school corporation to implement new swimming pool policies to keep all students safe so no other family has to experience such a profound loss.
