1207. Larry Bowling Jr
1Farris Funeral Homes, Farris Funeral Home, www.farrisfuneral-service.com 427 E. Main st Abingdon, VA.
"Larry's obituary
Lawrence Roscoe Worth-Jones Abingdon, VA Larry Worth-Jones, age 16, died Thursday, July 14, 2005 following a swimming accident. Larry was born in Dallas, Texas on August 30, 1988. He is the son of Becky and Roscoe Worth-Jones of Abingdon. Larry was active in two Washington County 4-H Clubs, the home schooling community, and local swim team. He was a volunteer for the Salvation Army and Wonder Kids Therapeutic Riding Center. Larry will be remembered for his twinkling eyes, beautiful smile and his love of life that he shared with others. Larry’s memory will live on through his gift as an organ donor. Larry was the world’s best big brother to his two younger sisters, Abby and Katie Worth-Jones and his younger brother, Eli Worth-Jones and a wonderful grandson to Sally and Jim Worth of Abingdon and Frank and Barbara Jones of Clayton, NC. Larry was loved and cherished by his many loving aunts and uncles; uncle Jud and aunt Margie Worth, Auntie M and uncle Ron Phillips, uncle Jay and aunt Nancy Worth, aunt Donna Combs, uncle Frankie and aunt Rae Jones, aunt Beth York, uncle Lynn and aunt Carolyn Price, dear family friends, Sue and Ken Croghan and thirteen cousins. A celebration of Larry’s life will take place at 2:00 P.M., Sunday, July 31, 2005 at the Southwest Virginia 4-H Educational Center and Camp in Abingdon. In place of flowers, the family has asked for those wishing to honor Larry’s memory to please make memorial contributions to the Washington County 4-H Office, 234 West Valley Street, Suite B, Abingdon, VA 24210 (276-676-6309). Those wishing to send memories or messages of condolence to Larry’s family may do so by visiting his personal web site at http://www.larryworthjones.blogspot.com. The Main Street Chapel of Farris Funeral Service, 427 E. Main Street, Abingdon is serving the family of Larry Worth-Jones."2Matthew Lakin, Bristol Heard TImes, Bristol Herald Courier 320 Morrison Blvd Bristol, VA 24201 (276) 669-2181.
ABINGDON – The boy who died after being pulled from the bottom of a public swimming pool was still breathing when rescue workers arrived, 911 records show.
"Video, 911 records answer some questions in pool death BY MATTHEW LAKIN BRISTOL HERALD COURIER Jul 28, 12:00 AM EDT
Larry Worth-Jones, 16, had been underwater at the Coomes Recreation Center’s indoor pool a little less than two minutes June 23 when his swim coach pulled him to the surface, a videotape from a security camera shows. He died July 14, after three weeks in a coma.
Town police didn’t investigate the boy’s death. That’s because Washington County dispatchers didn’t notify them, a 911 log indicates.
Town officials won’t discuss what happened, and rumors have surrounded the case ever since.
The video and 911 records, obtained Wednesday by the Bristol Herald Courier under the state’s Freedom of Information Act, offer answers to some of the questions residents have asked, such as how long the boy was under and why police didn’t respond to the call.
But they don’t explain why a boy described by his coach as a "strong swimmer" suddenly sank to the bottom of the pool or how he died after being underwater for just 1 minute and 46 seconds.
"I don’t have any explanation other than that something abnormal happened," said Bill Moffet, a lawyer for the town. "I think the coach and the lifeguards did exactly what they were trained to do."
Worth-Jones, a two-year member of the center’s summer swim league, arrived late for practice at the pool that day. The 17-year-old coach, whose name hasn’t been given, assigned him to swim half as many laps so he could catch up with the other swimmers, Moffet said.
About 25 other teenagers were in the pool, watched by the coach and a lifeguard. Town officials haven’t said why only one lifeguard was on duty at the indoor pool that day.
The video shows Worth-Jones swimming across the pool on a kickboard when he apparently goes limp, lets go of the board and drops beneath the surface. Town officials believe it happened around 4:30 p.m.
The video doesn’t indicate the correct date or time of day, but experts have concluded it keeps an accurate count of time, Moffet said.
The lifeguard, coach and other swimmers don’t appear to notice the boy sinking underwater.
"There’s no splashing around," Moffet said. "He just went under. When there’s no sign of distress, it’s hard to call their attention to a problem."
The swimmers continue their laps. The boy doesn’t surface. After about a minute and a half, the coach, standing beside the pool, apparently spots Worth-Jones at the bottom and dives in.
The pair surface within about 15 seconds, the video shows. The coach swims to the side, apparently supporting the boy. She and a lifeguard pull the boy out of the water and begin performing CPR.
"He did not have a pulse," Moffet said. "He was not breathing. The only thing a lifeguard can do is administer CPR."
Another lifeguard called 911. The call came at 4:38 p.m., according to the log.
"They’re doing swim practice right now, and one of the guys went under," the caller said.
The coach and lifeguard performed two cycles of CPR, Moffet said. After that, Worth-Jones started breathing again and vomiting water, according to the 911 tape.
"They have stopped CPR," a dispatcher says on the tape. "Patient is breathing and throwing up."
Washington County Life Saving Crew volunteers arrived around 4:44 p.m., within six minutes of the call, according to 911 records. The video shows them treating the boy before carrying him out on a stretcher, although it doesn’t show clearly what was done.
An ambulance carried Worth-Jones to Johnston Memorial Hospital, arriving around 5:10 p.m., according to 911 records. He was taken later to Johnson City Medical Center in Tennessee, where he ultimately died.
Moffet said he’s satisfied the coach and lifeguards did nothing wrong.
"There’s no negligence," he said. "I have defended a lot of towns on a lot of swimming pool cases over my 25 years as an attorney, and this is the best reaction I’ve seen in a case I’ve handled."
Town officials waited to release the video in an effort to respect the boy’s family, Moffet said. He said he hasn’t heard from them since Worth-Jones’ death.
"Our desire all along was to answer their questions before they read about it in the paper," he said.
The family couldn’t be reached Wednesday night.".
