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A five-year-old autistic boy was pronounced dead by Osceola County deputies after he wandered off from his family at the Westgate Town Center Resort. The boy, who has been identified only as Ashton, was visiting the resort with his family and heading to the Central Florida theme parks before tragedy struck.
Credit: Westgate Hotels
The Osceola County deputies were called to the resort around 10 a.m. on Friday after a report of a drowning. When police and paramedics arrived, a bystander was performing CPR on the boy, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Osceola County deputies ruled the death an accident.
The boy’s mother, Lyonetta Taylor, told News 6,
Everything about my son, I’m going to miss… Hearing him scream, saying, ‘Mom.’ I had to get McDonald’s every day. I don’t care. I would do that again 1,000 times. Seeing as he has autism and he’s nonverbal, it’s very heartbreaking. He couldn’t cry for nobody. He couldn’t call for nobody. If there was a gate around the pond, Ashton wouldn’t have gotten in.
Credit: Westgate Hotels
The resort is about two miles south of Disney’s Animal Kingdom and seven miles from the Walt Disney World Resort Center. According to the Resort’s website:
Westgate Town Center Resort offers the perfect locale where you can reset, regroup and rejuvenate while on your family vacation to Kissimmee, Florida. This full-service resort has it all! Splash around at our Shipwreck Island Water Park, take in a Disney movie in our cozy movie theater, savor made-to-order dishes at our onsite restaurants, or simply kick back and relax in your spacious villa.
Credit: Westgate Hotels
According to the resort’s map, several smaller lakes/ponds are on the property. Taylor is calling for the resort to add fencing and gates around all the ponds to prevent this from happening to another family. She also asks the resort to have lifeguards on duty 24 hours a day and institute stronger safety measures around its water features.
Credit: Westgate Hotels
The Westgate Resorts said in a statement:
We are working with the family to help care for their needs during this difficult time.
The resort did say that it has CPR-certified staff on duty at all times.
Well sorry for the little boy that pasted away .But it is really ridiculous when families come to Florida and dont watch their children specially when they are handicap and when something like this happens they blame the Resorts saying they should of did this and that and then want to sue .Blame yourself. Doesnt matter if there was fences everywhere children find ways to get into places .Florida has Alligators and they do climb fences .Nothing can be done .Bottom line when you have children you have to watch them dont put the blame on everyone else
watch your kids. They shouldn’t have to make resorts into fort knox just because of bad parenting. While it is sad about the little boy….Parents this was on you