COBB COUNTY, Ga.,None — The parents of a teenager who drowned at the Sun Valley Beach pool are asking Cobb County officials to shut the water park down, reported Channel 2's Richard Elliot.
Ifeanyi Odihe drowned May 27, 2008, at Sun Valley Beach water park in south Cobb.
Harold Spence is an attorney representing Odihe's family. Spence told Channel 2's Elliot they've filed a lawsuit against Sun Valley claiming the water was murky the day he died, and that lifeguards could not see the teen drowning.
The family has also written a letter to the Cobb public health department asking it to stop Sun Valley from opening until it addresses safety concerns, reported Elliot.
The pool, located at 5350 Holloman Road in Powder Springs, is scheduled to open May 1.
Elliot also spoke with Wade Copeland, Sun Valley's attorney. Copeland said the facility has never been cited for water clarity issues because it's not a traditional cement bottom pool. He says it's more like a pond or lake. Copeland also said he believes this is just an effort by Spence to get more publicity for his case. While he called the young man's death tragic, he denied Sun Valley was at fault.
Cobb's public health department said that because of the pending lawsuit it couldn't comment directly on the situation.