The Zachary Stein Lifeguard Case: Charges, Verdict, and Lawsuit

The Zachary Stein lifeguard case ended without a conviction. Stein, a 23-year-old lifeguard charged in 2017 after a five-year-old boy nearly drowned on his watch at Chelsea Piers in Stamford, Connecticut, was admitted to the state’s accelerated rehabilitation program in May 2018, barred from lifeguarding for two years, and had all charges dismissed. The American Lifeguard Association described the prosecution as the first time a lifeguard in the United States had been criminally charged over a near-fatal drowning.¹

What Happened at the Pool

On August 3, 2017, five-year-old Adam Khattak was at a soccer camp at Chelsea Piers that included free time in the facility’s Splash Zone. He ended up in a small pool with six to ten other children, where Stein was the only lifeguard on duty.²

Surveillance video showed Adam drifting from the shallow end into water about four feet deep, struggling, and sinking to the bottom. He remained submerged for four minutes and 39 seconds. During that time, Stein walked the perimeter of the 35-by-22-foot pool and sat in the lifeguard chair without looking at the water. At one point he walked directly past the child underwater without noticing him.³

When Stein finally realized what had happened, it took him another 20 seconds to reach Adam. He pulled the boy out and started CPR, and two aquatics managers joined in. Emergency responders arrived at 12:37 p.m. Adam was stabilized at Stamford Hospital, airlifted to Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital, and placed in a medically induced coma.⁴⁵ He was released from the hospital on August 7. Stamford Police Captain Richard Conklin called the recovery a “modern-day miracle.”

The Charges and the Prosecution’s Theory

Stein was arrested on September 7, 2017, and charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, a felony, and risk of injury to a minor under Connecticut General Statutes § 53-21. He was released without bail and resigned from Chelsea Piers, where he had worked as a full-time lifeguard for five years.²⁶

Stamford State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo built the case around the “10-10 rule,” an industry standard that requires lifeguards to scan their area every 10 seconds and reach a distressed swimmer within another 10. By that measure, Stein should have scanned the pool 27 times while Adam was underwater. “He checked out,” Colangelo told the court. “He intentionally chose not to do his job.”³⁷

The Defense and Industry Reaction

Defense attorney Mark Sherman argued the incident was a serious mistake, not a crime. Stein wasn’t on his phone, wasn’t reading, wasn’t socializing. He was walking around the pool at his post. Sherman called the lapse an “egregious, egregious mistake” but said there was no criminal intent, and pointed out that Stein was the person who jumped in and performed the CPR that saved Adam’s life. “Not every accident is a crime,” he told reporters.³⁶

The aquatics industry reacted with alarm to the charging decision itself. B.J. Fisher of the American Lifeguard Association called it “unprecedented.”⁸ Jeffrey Ellis of Ellis and Associates said it was “troubling that any prosecutor would pursue such action,” and John Fletemeyer of the Aquatic Law and Safety Institute warned that a conviction would be “a game-changer” for the profession.⁹ Chelsea Piers described the incident as a “terrible accident” and credited Stein as “one of the first responders” who helped save the boy.¹

How the Criminal Case Ended

On May 25, 2018, Stamford Superior Court Judge Gary White granted Stein entry into Connecticut’s accelerated rehabilitation program, a pretrial diversionary track for first-time offenders charged with offenses that are not of the most serious nature. The program suspends prosecution for up to two years; a participant who meets the conditions has the charges dismissed and the records erased.³¹⁰

Colangelo opposed the diversion. Judge White ruled for Stein but was blunt from the bench, telling him he had “failed miserably at his job of being a lifeguard” and adding, “we are better off not having him as a lifeguard.”³ As a condition of the program, Stein was barred from working as a lifeguard or in any similar role for the full two years.⁷ The two-year period would have ended around May 2020, and Sherman’s firm website states that all charges were ultimately dismissed.¹¹

The Civil Lawsuit

Adam’s parents, Ahmed Khattak and Maha Shehzad Ashraf, filed a separate civil suit in Stamford Superior Court against Stein, Chelsea Piers Connecticut LLC, and Chelsea Piers Management II LLC. Represented by attorney Rosemarie Paine of Jacobs and Dow, they alleged negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress.⁵

The complaint described injuries more serious than the early “miracle recovery” reports suggested: a hypoxic brain injury, seizures with decorticate posturing, respiratory and cardiac arrest, aspiration injury to the lungs, and severe nervous system shock. It also alleged lasting effects, including impaired balance, difficulty walking, an ongoing fear of water, and intrusive memories, and said the injuries could be permanent and affect Adam’s future earning capacity. The suit noted that Adam’s mother had told Chelsea Piers staff at enrollment that her son could not swim.⁵ No public reporting on the resolution of the civil case has been identified.

1
CBS News New York. CT Lifeguard Arrested
2
NewCanaanite. Chilling Details of New Canaan Boy’s Drowning Emerge in Arrest Warrant Application
3
Stamford Advocate. Lifeguard to Get Diversionary Program in Stamford
4
Stamford Advocate. Near-Drowning Victim Makes Near-Miracle Recovery
5
NewCanaanite. Parents Sue in New Canaan Boy’s Nonfatal Drowning Case
6
NBC New York. Lifeguard Charged in Near-Drowning at Connecticut Pool
7
Aquatics International. Lifeguard Will Have Felony Charge Removed
8
Stamford Advocate. Lifeguard Charged in Near-Drowning at Chelsea Piers
9
Aquatics International. Lifeguard’s Arrest Could Be Game-Changer
10
Connecticut General Assembly. Accelerated Rehabilitation Program Report
11
Mark Sherman Law. Mark Sherman