His friends watched the helpless man drowning because he didn't know how to swim.
Two strangers who heard some noise found Christopher and pulled his body out of the lake. Around 10 minutes later, a customer from a nearby restaurant stepped in and helped the man get back to shore just in time.
A shocking video captured the group looking into the water just after they pushed Christopher Gilbert.
According to some media sources, the 26-year-old medical student was brain dead and the rest of his organs were starting to fail when he was brought to the hospital.
I was devastated. I felt like my life had ended at that moment. My son is aspiring to be a medical doctor, my son is going to be a medical doctor. He got his master's last year in biological science. He’s preparing for medical school so for this to have happened to him … I was just devastated.Yolanda George, Gilbert's mother
On investigation, his so-called friends first tried to call the near-death incident just "horse-play." They even lied to his mother that Christopher fell into the lake.
Christopher's family is demanding an arrest for the terrible event, saying the friends had a criminal plan when they pushed him into the lake.
Why would you push my son into the lake knowing he couldn’t swim?Yolanda George
The aspiring doctor spent 72 hours on a ventilator and an ECMO machine. This is for the dialysis of the lungs, as said by his mother. He is still on life support and his lungs are at 20 per cent capacity only.
He is responding cognitively but is unable to speak.
To add insult to injury, after pushing him, no one from the ‘friend group’ attempted to go in after him. Instead, two brave bystanders, who have no relationship with Chris, heard the commotion and retrieved his body from the lake.Claudia Payne, Personal Injury Attorney (Representing George)
(Input from various media sources)
(Rehash/ Dr. Pragati Priya)