Young lifeguard remembered as a loving daughter, sister, friend

Dave Leval
·2 min read
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (DC News Now)–Family and friends braved the cold Saturday Night at the Hearst Pool in N.W. to remember Jazmin Jefferson.

“It is a very somber moment, it is very difficult to be here,” said Jefferson’s mother Deirdre Harris.

Jefferson, 21, died December 25 at Howard University Hospital where she had been since she was pulled from the pool at the Roosevelt Aquatic Center November 29 where she worked as a lifeguard.

“My nickname for her was Angel Baby. And now she really is an angel,” Harris said. “And I never imagined that she would be an angel at 21,”

Jefferson’s family says she apparently passed out, and fell into the pool, and remained underwater between seven to 10 minutes.

“Jasmine’s passing was preventable,” Harris said. “Jasmine’s passing was avoidable.”

The DC Department of Parks and Recreation, DPR, operates the pool and others around the District.

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“There were no patrons at the facility and Roosevelt was fully staffed during the time of this incident,” DPR said in an email statement. “Roosevelt operates with a minimum of three pool operators to maintain pool chemistry and rescue duties.

The vigil took place at Hearst Pool, because the family said that was Jefferson’s favorite pool to work.

“Everybody loved Jasmine, and to know Jasmine was to know unadultered love,” said Jefferson’s younger sister, Jade.

Candles burned as a solemn tribute to Jefferson during the ceremony.

“I miss you, Jasmine. I love you,” said Mercedes Maynard-Randall, a friend, and Jefferson’s supervisor at Roosevelt. “And you will forever be in my heart, in everyone else’s heart.”

DPR did not respond to a request to comment on why it took minutes to pull Jefferson from the water.

“it is unimaginable to me that my daughter is not with us because she should be,” Harris.

She and others are calling for a full investigation into the young woman’s death.

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