A disabled teenager who died after an incident at a local swimming pool had been in a major car crash years earlier that led to his ongoing medical problems.
Pono Wariua Aperahama, 17, died in hospital on Tuesday afternoon following a horror incident at his local swimming pool at Lambton, near Newcastle, in NSW.
The ‘stocky’ teenager, who was at the pool with his carer, was reportedly tackled to the ground by eight men after an incident in which he threw a punch at a lifeguard.
Witnesses claim that while pinned down Pono repeatedly thrashed his head into the ground. By the time paramedics arrived he had serious self-inflicted head injuries.
Speaking out on Wednesday, his shattered mother Terina Abraham said her son had battled health issues since being hit by a car while riding his bike in 2014, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Pono Wariua Aperahama (pictured), 17, died in hospital on Tuesday afternoon following a horror incident at his local swimming pool at Lambton, near Newcastle, in NSW
The ‘stocky’ teenager, who was at the pool with his carer, was reportedly tackled to the ground by eight men after an incident in which he threw a punch at a lifeguard. He died in hospital
Witnesses claim that while pinned down Pono repeatedly thrashed his head into the ground
Ms Abraham, who lives in New Zealand, said she was currently planning to fly across to Australia to say goodbye to her son.
‘That is the plan to come over to Sydney. We are not decided yet as to where my son will be laid in his final resting place,’ she said.
‘Health issues were caused by his accident. He was perfectly healthy otherwise.
‘My heart has been pulled out of my body and thrown into pieces on the ground… I am speechless.’
In a heartwarming tribute to her son, Ms Abraham posted a photo of her holding his hand.
It comes after a witness, named Robyn, told Daily Mail Australia the ‘distressed’ boy was growling and hissing on the ground before shouting: ‘You’re hurting me’.
‘They put him down on the ground with quite a bit of force. He was still trying to lift his head up, he kept shaking his head and hitting it on the ground,’ she said.
His shattered mother Terina Abraham said her son had battled health issues since being hit by a car while riding his bike in 2014
The 17-year-old disabled boy died in hospital after hitting a staff member at Lambton Swimming Pool (pictured), near Newcastle, on Tuesday afternoon
Paramedics arrived at the pool in Lambton after 5pm Tuesday but Pono had gone into cardiac arrest at the scene (pictured)
Paramedics arrived at the busy public pool in Lambton just after 5pm on Tuesday and treated the boy, who had gone into cardiac arrest, at the scene.
He was rushed to John Hunter Hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later.
According to Robyn, who was watching on in horror from the stands as her daughter continued her swimming lesson, the entire incident lasted more than half an hour.
She said the disabled boy started throwing cones and signs into the pool after getting into an argument with a boy in the water.
When a male lifeguard, aged in his late 20s, ran across to intervene – things ‘started to get out of hand’.
‘The boy went into the disabled toilet and started banging at the door… then he came out and punched a glass window, cracking it all,’ Robyn said.
‘Then he threw punches at the lifeguard.’
Paramedics desperately tried to revive the boy at Lambton Pool after he suffered cardiac arrest
At that point up to eight parents who were watching the incident unfold jumped on top of the boy and brought him roughly to the concrete floor.
‘There were seven or eight big men, they grabbed him and got him down on the ground with quite a bit of force,’ Robyn said.
By the time emergency services arrived, the boy was reportedly ‘hyperventilating’ and continuing to ‘kick at’ the men restraining him.
‘The ambulance crew turned up, I saw the needle and they sedated him,’ Robyn said.
‘The next thing we saw him go still. That’s when they started resuscitating, and got everyone out of the pool and into the back.’
The swimming centre was placed in lockdown and close to 100 traumatised kids were taken out of the pool as paramedics desperately tried to resuscitate the boy.
‘They were working on that poor boy for 15 to 20 minutes trying to resuscitate him,’ Robyn said.
The swimming centre was placed in lockdown and roughly 40 to 50 traumatised kids were whisked out of the pool as paramedics desperately tried to resuscitate the boy
The boy was rushed to hospital (pictured) where he was pronounced dead a short time after
Newcastle Council, which owns the pool but leases it out to private company Lane 4 Aquatics, released a statement on Wednesday.
‘Late yesterday afternoon a 17-year-old boy and his carer were visiting Lambton Pool. The boy began causing harm to himself and the surrounding property.’
‘His carer, with this assistance of passers-by, restrained the boy to prevent him doing further harm to himself.
‘During the incident the boy had a medical episode and subsequently required CPR.
‘Emergency services attended the scene however he was unable to be resuscitated.
‘We express our deepest sympathies to the family.’
More than one employee was injured during the assault and had to be treated by paramedics at the scene, according to reports.
A Lane 4 Aquatics Centre employee told Daily Mail Australia the staff members were ‘all okay’ but refused to make any further comment.
NSW Police has launched a critical investigation into the circumstances around the death of the teenager.
In a since-deleted Facebook post, Lambton Swimming Pool said they would re-open the pool at 9am on Wednesday after the ‘small disruption’.
‘Lambton Pool will reopen today (18th October) at 9:00am,’ the statement read.
‘We appreciate the patience and understanding for the small disruption.’
In an updated post, the pool described the incident as a ‘tragedy’.
‘Our condolences go out to the families involved. We appreciate there is a lot of speculation however it is important to remember it was a tragic day for all involved.’
NSW Police has launched a critical investigation into the circumstances around the death of the teenager. The swimming centre re-opened on Wednesday morning