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Father of drowned child strives to warn others
| Monday, Jul 3 2006 10:05 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Jul 7 2006 3:22 PM
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct information.
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Jasmine Korin died Sunday, but she still lives in her father's eyes.
"If I want to think about her, I can see her playing right now. I can see her smile right now," Ali Korin said Monday.
Jasmine, 8, was a sweet, quiet, kind girl, he said, and he knows she has gone to a better place.
"She's an angel. She's got to go back where she belongs," he said.
Jasmine survived on life support for just under a day after being pulled, nearly lifeless, out of the west lake at The Park at River Walk Saturday evening.
Jasmine died during a helicopter ride to a hospital in San Francisco at 6:25 p.m. Sunday, according to Kern County and Santa Clara County coroner's officials.
She was declared dead at 6:25 p.m. Sunday at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose.
Jasmine's large extended family had gathered at The Park at River Walk to enjoy the afternoon on Saturday, Korin said.
According to Kern County coroner's reports, several of the children were playing in the lake and had to be rescued. Two children were rescued and returned to their families, but Jasmine could not be found.
Bakersfield Fire Chief Ron Fraze said a sheriff's deputy "that got his diving gear on" found Jasmine in the murky water and pulled her from the lake.
Police reports said Jasmine was underwater for about 30 minutes.
"You can be underwater that long and survive, but the water has to be pretty frigid," Fraze said.
Korin said he does not hold any grudges for the death of his daughter. It was her time, he said.
But he wants the city of Bakersfield to put up signs warning people that the lakes can be dangerous -- even fatal.
"I don't want any family to cry like I have," he said.
City of Bakersfield officials said the parks were not designed for swimming, and there has been much debate over the need to put up warning signs.
"There has been discussion between the staff and myself and likely other council members about posting a sign," Councilman David Couch said. "It was my understanding that one was supposed to be up before the Fourth of July, but staff was being very careful of the wording in order to not impact the immunity provided in case law for bodies of water."
City Attorney Ginny Gennaro has said that because the man-made lakes are filled with water from the Kern River, they are natural waterways, making the city immune from lawsuits for any accidental death there.
She has said putting up signs could remove some or all of that immunity.
Recreation and Parks Director Dianne Hoover said there were plans to erect warning signs for The Park, but they were put on hold while Gennaro worked out the language.
Korin does not buy the argument that the city doesn't bear some responsibility for what happened to Jasmine.
"They always have an excuse. The excuse is a lie," he said.
The simple fact, he said, is the city had the power to put up signs warning people about the dangers of swimming in the lakes at The Park and chose not to.
Korin said parents understand that a lake can be dangerous.
"But not the kids. They don't know," he said. "I have six children. My wife can hold two. If I try to hold two, who's going to be holding the other two?"
Gennaro said the Bakersfield Police Department is investigating the circumstances surrounding Jasmine's drowning.
But she would not release the 911 tape of the incident Monday. She said she could not speak to the nature of the open investigation.
Gennaro said her office is in contact with The Californian's attorney, Thomas R. Burke, and will call him Wednesday. Gennaro said that is when she will release the tape.
"The city has acknowledged it's only a question of when, and not whether, it will be released," Burke said. "We can appreciate the city's concern about potential liability, but the public has a right of access to this 911 tape."
Councilman Harold Hanson said the city has the right to protect itself from a lawsuit.
A Bakersfield Police Department lieutenant said Sunday the department was not investigating the incident because it is not a criminal case. Department spokesman Ryan Paslay said Monday he doesn't know what the lieutenant told the media, adding cases such as this drowning are investigated.
Paslay said he hasn't been told if the 911 tape is being used as evidence in the investigation.