Drowned boy's mom urges more caution by parents

Trezon P'Lindor was supposed to learn to swim this summer.

His mother, Evelyn Lindor of Bay Shore, said she often took Trezon, 11, and her four other children to a nearby public pool, where she and a lifeguard were always on watch. Still, she said, she planned to enroll them in swimming lessons this summer.

Friday, Lindor grieved over the drowning death of Trezon, her third born. Police said he went into a friend's pool in Bay Shore without permission after school Thursday and was pulled out too late.

"Parents have to be more aware, and kids have to listen," she said of swimming restrictions and water games.

Lindor said Trezon was supposed to call her to pick him up after school Thursday. But as she waited at her home, police officers arrived. "They said, 'There has been an accident.' "

Trezon's drowning brought an end to all the plans she had for a son she described as loving, tender and vibrant. She remembered him as an active child who enjoyed playing basketball, drawing and dancing.

Memorial services for Trezon will be held at Rose's Funeral Home in Bay Shore on Monday from 2 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. Trezon will be buried Tuesday in Brentwood.

Grief counselors were available Friday to students at Bay Shore Middle School, where Trezon was a sixth-grader.

Lindor recalled her last few words with her son Thursday morning as she dropped him off at the school.

"I said, 'Be a good boy.' He said, 'OK, Mommy.' "

The school had early dismissal, and instead of calling his mother, Trezon went with two pals to a friend's home, police said.

The friend's 18-year-old brother told the youngsters that they could not go into the pool because the parents were not home, police said.

But Trezon did so anyway, entering water that police said was 4 to 8 feet deep. After some time, the friend who lived there realized Trezon couldn't swim and was in trouble. He pulled him from the water and someone called the police. Trezon was taken to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, where he was pronounced dead.

Lawrence O'Leary, the Town of Islip's public safety enforcement commissioner, said Thursday the town had no record of a permit for the pool, an offense punishable by up to $1,000 in fines. Friday, another town official said the town has not cited the family since the accident had just happened.

A woman who answered the phone Friday at the Millay Lane home where Trezon drowned said, "I just feel so sad. I don't want to talk about it." She did not identify herself.

Lindor said she and Trezon's father, Rouserze Lindor, harbor no ill toward the family and understand the parents were not home. She said her children will get those swim lessons this summer.

"I just want people to be aware," she said, "when they have a swimming pool they have to be strict."

Nassau hosting pool safety event

A pool safety event aimed at preventing drownings will be held on Monday at 11 a.m. in East Meadow. Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray will speak about the importance of using pool alarms and will give other tips on pool safety. Murray will also preview a pool safety public service announcement that will air on Cablevision, which owns Newsday. The meeting, hosted by the Town of Hempstead, Cablevision, and King Kullen, will be held at the Veterans Park Pool, near Prospect and East Meadow avenues.