Texas police said a 14-year-old boy sustained life-threatening injuries on Saturday after he was sucked into a drain at a water park, reportedly as part of a dare.
KTRK reported that the incident occurred at Fun Town Water Park in Crystal Beach. Though an employee shut off the pipes after a drain sucked Caden Strimple in, he was reportedly rushed to the hospital with serious internal injuries.
“From my understanding, it might have been on a dare,” Galveston County Sheriff Henry Troschessett told the news station. “He’s a large, 14-year-old, my size, 5’11”, and he picked it [the grate] up, and when he did that, he slipped into the intake.”
KHOU reported that Strimple was in about three feet of water when he lifted a grate in the pool and the intake pump sucked him in. Troschessett said the boy’s friend spotted him underwater and tapped him when after realizing the teen wasn’t getting up, leading the friend to alert a water park employee.
Strimple reportedly lost consciousness at one point but came to and walked to the ambulance.
“He told his dad, ‘I love you, sorry it happened.’ He was able to stand up,” the sheriff told KHOU.
Despite regaining consciousness, Strimple was reportedly placed in a medically-induced coma due to the nature of his injuries.
Police are reportedly investigating Saturday’s incident and are inspecting the grate for possible safety issues.
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[Featured image: Caden Strimple/GoFundMe]
