This is truly terrifying.
The family of little Aliyah Jaico is suing Hilton and Unique Crowne Hospitality after the 8-year-old was reportedly killed in a Texas hotel’s pool. And if the suit is accurate, it’s something that could happen again, the way the pool is set up!
In Monday’s filing, Daniela Jaico says her family got a room at Houston’s DoubleTree by Hilton “to enjoy a day of swimming.” But around 4:50 p.m. her daughter Aliyah “suddenly disappeared.” Daniela says she demanded to see the hotel’s surveillance footage but was told “police would have to be present.” Only after she reported the child missing and got authorities on the premises was she “finally granted access to view the security footage.” That was about an hour later.
The footage, says the lawsuit, showed the little girl swimming in the “lazy river” pool — then she suddenly went under and never resurfaced. A search began. The police, the fire department, and Texas Equusearch drained the pool. They attached cameras to poles to reach in and “inspect the pipes.” After 13 hours the tragic truth was found. Per the suit, Aliyah’s body “was discovered wedged in the pipes of the malfunctioning pool equipment.” She had drowned.
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The lawsuit noted how Aliyah “loved to swim” — arguing she only drowned because she “was violently sucked into a 12-to-16 inch unsecured open gap in the swimming pool flow system of the hotels’ lazy river.” This pipe was pulling water in, though it’s unclear if that was what it was supposed to do. Obviously that’s horribly dangerous with such a large opening that a child could get sucked into.
The Houston Health Department performed an inspection on Monday and found “multiple violations,” including “32 inch channel drains on the walls” of the pool without “a valid document stating their function, date of installation and date of expiration.” It seems the lazy river’s workings were never OK’d by HHD at all — and they definitely were not safe!
Hilton has responded to the story by throwing local owners Unique Crowne Hospitality under the bus, telling ABC 13:
“Hilton offers our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones for the tragic loss of a young girl at the DoubleTree by Hilton Houston Brookhollow. This property is independently owned and operated by a third party. Hilton does not own, manage, or control the day-to-day operations of the property and does not employ any of the property’s staff or its third-party operators.”
Wow. Zero accountability.
Daniela is demanding $1 million in damages for her wrongful death suit. Not that it will bring back her beloved daughter, but it may force them to take this seriously and make necessary changes to protect other kids. Meanwhile the grieving mom paid tribute to her daughter on Facebook, sharing the final photo she took with Aliyah and writing in Spanish:
“They say we all have our destiny marked… but I can’t understand why yours was like this. Thank you my love for the 8 years you gave me by your side. Thank you my girl for teaching me what love is and a noble heart. I still don’t accept that you won’t be here anymore, I don’t have to pretend. I hope to see you again one day and you’ll keep looking at me and you’ll get that big smile that was contagious with joy. I will love you for all eternity. You are the most beautiful thing God has given me and after every battle we went through together we didn’t win this one.”
So sad…
[Image via Daniela Jaico/Facebook/Fox 26 Houston/YouTube.]