HOUSTON — The family of a young girl who tragically drowned in a Houston hotel pool last weekend has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, according to their lawyers.
It happened at the DoubleTree hotel along Highway 290 at Pinemont Drive in northwest Houston on Saturday.
According to the lawsuit, provided by lawyers for the family, 8-year-old Aliyah Lynette Jaico died after she was “violently sucked into a 12- to 16-inch unsecured open gap in the swimming pool flow system.”
Hours before she died, Aliyah’s family rented a room at the hotel to enjoy a day of swimming, the lawsuit said. It was around 4:50 p.m., the family first noticed that Aliyah disappeared in the hotel’s lazy river.
The lawsuit states Aliyah’s mother "frantically" searched for her daughter.
Around 5:20 p.m., she asked hotel management to look at surveillance footage, however, the lawsuit claims management denied her request and explained that police would have to be present to view it.
Around 5:45 p.m., Aliyah’s family called 911 and reported the young girl missing.
According to the lawsuit, Texas EquuSearch and Houston police were finally granted access to view the security footage. Upon viewing it, they discovered that Aliyah went underwater and never emerged.
The lawsuit states that a team was put together to drain the pool and video cameras were attached to 20-foot poles to inspect the pipes. Aliyah’s body was discovered wedged in the pipes of the "malfunctioning" pool equipment.
The lawsuit alleges that Aliyah’s death was directly caused by the hotel's negligence and defective condition of the premises.
The family is seeking damages over $1,000,000.