By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
An acute cardiac episode and subsequent collapse led to the drowning death of a 24-year-old Princeton man who was found unresponsive in the Community Park swimming pool last month, according to the Princeton Police Department.
Colin Simonelli suffered “an acute cardiac episode while standing in the (main) Community Park Pool (on Aug. 20),” police said in a press release Wednesday afternoon.
“Mr. Simonelli collapsed and became submerged in the pool. His death has been officially ruled accidental by drowning,” police said.
Although lifeguards were on duty, Mr. Simonelli was discovered unresponsive by another swimmer. Lifeguards administered CPR to Mr. Simonelli, who was taken to the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro. He died several hours later.
The Town of Princeton and its Recreation Department, which operates the swimming pool complex, had a full complement of lifeguards on duty. Two lifeguards were stationed at the main pool where Mr. Simonelli collapsed.
This is believed to be the first water-related fatality at the Community Park Pool, which opened in 1967.
Mr. Simonelli, who grew up in Princeton, graduated from Princeton High School in 2010. He was a junior at the Boston campus of the University of Massachusetts, majoring in philosophy and public policy.
