Young aspiring doctor suffers brain damage after a “friend” pushed him into a lake

MEXICO CITY (apro).- “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. She earned her master’s degree last year in biological sciences. She is preparing for medical school, so for this to happen to her…she was devastated,” Christopher Gilbert’s mother, Yolanda George, said following the incident.

The family of Gilbert, 26, asks the authorities for justice after the young man suffered brain damage after a “friend” allegedly pushed him into a lake; Gilbert almost drowned as he didn’t know how to swim and after about 20 minutes, another customer managed to rescue Chris.

The events occurred last April, in a restaurant facing Lake D’Arboone in the city of Farmerville, in northern Louisiana, United States, as reported by “The Guardian.”

“A friend of his called. She was hysterical and crying on the phone. She told me that Chris had [caído] to the lake and that it had been under water for about 20 minutes,” Yolanda George told local media “KSLA.” “The doctor called us and told me that at that point she was practically brain dead and that the rest of her organs were starting to fail, and that we had 72 hours of life support,” she added.

This Friday he was able to regain consciousness, so life support was withdrawn. In addition, she regained the ability to eat alone, according to local media “KNOE News 8.”

According to Claudia Payne, a lawyer for Gilbert’s family, the group of friends initially told police that the young man fell into the lake, but “further investigation” revealed that the friend had allegedly pushed him, the lawyer charged. to “KSLA”.

“In fact, she admitted to her mother [de Gilbert]as well as to the police officers, who pushed him into the lake,” Payne said. “The lake had criminal intent.”

On “KSLA” George recalled the conversation he had with the friend who pushed his son into the lake, in which he asked, “Why would you push my son into the lake knowing he couldn’t swim?”

The friend allegedly said, “Well, ma’am, I didn’t know that man couldn’t swim.”

The mother said that when they went to the restaurant, the owner of the establishment told them: “Everyone knows that Chris doesn’t know how to swim. He’s been coming here for two years. He is always joking about it.”

According to Payne, Gilbert’s family wants police to arrest the person who allegedly pushed him into the lake. They are also seeking to hold the restaurant owner responsible for failing to keep Chris safe, as a customer of the establishment.

Change.org, which supports the Gilbert family’s wishes, had collected more than 2,600 signatures as of Sunday.