FARMERVILLE, La. — An aspiring medical student was left brain dead last month when his friends pushed him into a lake in Louisiana, knowing he couldn’t swim and then failed to rescue him, according to a report.
On April 14, shocking video captured the group of friends casually looking into the water after pushing Christopher Gilbert off the dock at Lake D’Arbonne. One woman even entered the water briefly before abandoning the rescue attempt. It took another 10 minutes for a patron at a nearby restaurant to intervene and pull Gilbert back to land.
By the time Gilbert arrived at a local hospital, he was brain dead and his organs were starting to fail. The 26-year-old spent 72 hours on a ventilator and an ECMO machine, which provides lung support.
Gilbert’s mother, Yolanda George, described the incident as devastating. She said, “My son is aspiring to be a medical doctor, my son is going to be a medical doctor. He got his masters last year in biological science. He’s preparing for medical school so for this to have happened to him… I was just devastated.”
According to reports, Gilbert’s friends initially attempted to dismiss the incident as “horse-play”. However, eventually, a woman around the same age as Gilbert admitted to pushing him into the lake. None of the friends admitted to knowing that Gilbert couldn’t swim.
Gilbert is currently responsive cognitively but unable to speak. He still relies on life support, and his lungs are functioning at only 20% capacity.
The family is demanding that an arrest be made in connection with the incident, with their attorney, Claudia Payne, stating that the friends displayed criminal intent by pushing Gilbert into the lake.
Yolanda George questioned the actions of her son’s friends, asking, “Why would you push my son in the lake knowing he couldn’t swim?”
No further information regarding potential arrests or charges has been released at this time.