The medical student spent 72 hours on a ventilator and an ECMO machine.
An aspiring US doctor was brain dead after his friends pushed him into a Louisiana lake despite knowing he couldn’t swim, and then watched helplessly as he drowned, according to a report in New York Post Office. A shocking video circulating on social media shows the group looking at the lake minutes after pushing Christopher Gilbert over the dock at Lake D’Arbonne in Farmerville on April 14.
In the clip, a woman is seen entering the lake in search of the man before abandoning the rescue mission. Almost 10 minutes later, a customer from a neighboring restaurant intervened and brought Mr Gilbert back to shore, just in time. The 26-year-old was brain dead when he arrived at a local hospital and his other organs were failing, according to his mother, Yolanda George.
The medical student spent 72 hours connected to a ventilator and an ECMO machine, which, according to her mother, is “dialysis for the lungs”. She said, “I was devastated. I felt like my life was over at that moment. My son aspires to be a doctor, my son is going to be a doctor. He got his master’s degree in his senior year in biological sciences. He’s preparing me for medical school, So for this to happen to him… I was devastated.”
According to investigators, his friends originally tried to dismiss the near-death as a “joke.” The group even lied to the mother after he was rescued. “A friend of his called and was crying hysterically. She told me that Chris fell into the lake and was underwater for about 10 minutes,” her mother said.
After a while, another woman about Mr. Gilbert’s age acknowledged pushing him into the water. However, none of the group members acknowledged knowing he couldn’t swim, something Mr. Gilbert’s family finds difficult to accept, according to the outlet.
“Why would you push my son into the lake knowing he couldn’t swim?” Mrs. George questioned. Furthermore, the family requests arrest in connection with the terrible event, citing the friends’ criminal intent in pushing him into the lake.
The lawyer representing the Gilbert family added: “To make matters worse, after pushing him, no one from the ‘group of friends’ tried to go after him. Instead, two brave bystanders, who have no relationship with Chris, listened commotion and recovered his body from the lake.”
Although the 26-year-old is responding to treatment, he is unable to speak. He is still on life support and his lungs are at 20% capacity.
This story originally appeared on Ndtv.com read the full story
