Drowning at Sports Park in hands of district attorney
The case regarding the October drowning of a 6-year-old boy at the Brownsville Sports Park was sent to the Cameron County district attorney’s office last month, police said this week.
The boy’s mother, 31-year-old Maria Elizabeth Perez-Mata of Brownsville, is charged with two counts of child endangerment. The case was submitted to the district attorney on Jan. 25, Brownsville police spokesman J.J. Treviño said. Records appear to show that Perez-Mata is no longer in the county jail.
The 2-year-old sister of the boy who drowned was in critical condition after the Oct. 16 incident. Police said details on the girl’s condition might be available today.
Authorities have not released the names of the children, who had four other siblings at the park that day, all playing at the lake on the grounds.
The Herald has filed a records request to obtain the police report. In response to an informal request Sergeant Rolando Avitia, the department’s records custodian, said the information could not be released until there was a disposition in the case of the mother.
Police commander James Paschall said the department would have to check with the district attorney’s office about releasing the records.
“We’ve got to research it,” he said.
The district attorney’s office did not return phone calls asking for information about the status of the case.
In October, police did not release details of the incident, but two bystanders who launched into action that day recalled a scene of panic when they spoke to The Herald the next day.
Raul Torres Jr., 23, and Salome Pecina, 26, said they were able to rescue four of the children after an older sibling made a plea for help. The men said they grabbed three of the children out of the water, then learned there was another girl in there, the 2-year-old. They said there was confusion about the 6-year-old boy’s whereabouts so the search for him didn’t begin as quickly.
Torres said when he found the little girl, she was face down underwater on the bottom of the muddy lake. The men said they pulled her out and a female passerby administered CPR.
“There was so much mud in her mouth the lady threw up and then kept giving her CPR,” Pecina said.
The incident shook residents, and the city of Brownsville — which owns the Sports Park — called a press conference to address the circumstances.
Police confirmed that the mother was under investigation in connection with a Child Protective Services report that was filed the week before the October incident.
Right after the incident, police said the mother might face additional charges, but Treviño said this week that no other charges were filed.
