PHOENIX — A 13-year-old Denver boy died Tuesday after he was pulled from a Phoenix hotel pool over the weekend, the Phoenix Police Department confirmed.
The seventh and eighth graders on the Jr. Buffs football team traveled to Phoenix looking for a championship. Coach Julius Greer said the team celebrated a win on Saturday evening at the hotel pool at a Phoenix Embassy Suites near 24th Street and Thomas Road.
Thirteen-year-old Darryl Blackmon somehow ended up in the deep end of the pool, according to friend Joey Guerrero.
"Two little girls pointed him out to me," Guerrero told ABC15 in Phoenix. "That's what like really initiated it for me to jump in and, like, save him and pull him out for CPR.”
The 17-year-old is a trained lifeguard and gave Blackmon a fighting chance until paramedics arrived.
Blackmon was taken to the hospital for treatment, but died from his injuries Tuesday. Phoenix police confirmed Blackmon's death, and said the cause and manner of death will be determined by the Office of the Medical Examiner.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Blackmon's family. According to the online fundraiser, a balloon release will be held at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 4 at Overland High School.
