"Tragic Vacation: Our 5-Year-Old Son Drowned in a Shallow Pool – A Crucial Warning for Parents About Missing Safety Features"

A DEVASTATED mom whose son, 5, drowned at a rental property has urged parents to ensure safety measures are in place before booking vacations to avoid the heartbreak that has shattered her family.

The parents of little AJ Ealy shared their crippling grief with The U.S. Sun in an emotional interview following the death of their beloved “rainbow baby” last July in Florida.

Tragedy struck for the Ealy family on what should have been a dream trip (AJ and his parents pictured right) Credit: Ealy family Their short-term rental in Clermont, Florida, had a mini waterpark where AJ drowned (pictured) Credit: The Great Escape Lakeside Retreat

The little boy, described as “full of life” by his devoted parents, traveled with relatives from Texas to the Sunshine state for what was meant to be the trip of a lifetime, with planned visits to Disney and other attractions.

But within hours of arriving at The Great Escape Lakeside – around 30 minutes from Orlando in Clermont – their dream vacation turned into an unimaginable nightmare.

The luxury short-term rental featured a huge private waterpark with slides, pools and a lazy river — marketed as the perfect place for families to unwind after long days at nearby theme parks.

Designed to sleep up to 45 guests, the property promoted itself as a luxury resort-style estate intended to rival commercial vacation resorts.

At the center of the home was a sprawling 40,000-gallon swimming complex featuring a lazy river, hot tub, kiddie pool and giant high-speed slide.

But according to the family, there were no lifeguards, pool alarms or adequate barriers around the water.

AJ was outside playing with relatives and family friends while his parents prepared surprise Disney gift bags for the children.

“It was like a blur,” mom Juanita told The U.S. Sun. “I saw my daughter with my friends, so I asked a relative to look after my son AJ while I go inside and prepare a treat for the next day.

“Within 10 to 15 minutes, we heard yelling.

“I heard someone screaming saying, ‘There’s a baby in the water.’”

Juanita’s friend, who is a nurse, immediately began trying to resuscitate AJ after noticing he still had a faint pulse.

Despite desperate CPR efforts from family members and friends, AJ could not be saved.

Investigators later concluded the little boy had entered the shallow lazy river area before slipping into the deeper pool where he drowned.

Efforts were made to keep the remaining young children in the group shielded from the reality of what happened.

Showing remarkable strength, Juanita and her family remained in the rental home for five days after the tragedy as they made arrangements to bring AJ home.

“I made it my mission. I was not leaving Florida without my son,” she said.

“He was our rainbow baby , conceived through IVF so he was important to us. So to go through that journey – he was born through COVID too – so to survive that and now this, it hits hard.

“We made sure we were on the same flight together and escorted him on the runway at the airport. I’m thankful the airline allowed us to do that. We were able to travel back home together.”

AJ’s family hope by speaking up about their pain will help change legislations surrounding pool safety in short-term rentals Credit: Ealy family AJ was conceived by IVF and was the couple’s ‘rainbow baby’ Credit: Ealy family

Attorney Adam Finkel, who represented the family for the Haggard Law Firm , said the tragedy highlights growing dangers linked to large “resort-style” short-term rentals operating without the same safety standards required at hotels or water parks.

He argued the property’s scale and aquatic attractions created a foreseeable need for stronger protections, including lifeguards, restricted pool access and emergency equipment such as defibrillator devices.

“They all position themselves to compete against hotels,” Finkel said of luxury short-term rentals.

“But they don’t hold themselves to the same safety standards.

“If you’re going to compete with hotels and want to be treated like a hotel, then you need to bring yourself up to commercial standards.”

Earlier this month, a wrongful death lawsuit filed in Lake County, Florida resulted in a $2million settlement.

The lawsuit claimed the property lacked basic safeguards including pool barriers, self-latching gates, alarms and water safety personnel despite encouraging families to spend time around the large aquatic complex.

When pressurizing the owners on what changes would be made in the aftermath of AJ’s death, the attorneys discovered the property had been sold.

Juanita said on the day she finally departed, there was still tape indicating a crime scene.

“The place didn’t even close down,” she added. “A family was checking in as we were leaving and they probably had no idea about what had happened.”

The current owners of the property told The U.S. Sun additional safety measures have since been introduced.

“Our thoughts remain with the family,” they said in a statement.

“Since taking over the property, we have implemented additional safety measures, including mandatory verbal safety walkthroughs at check-in and an added physical barrier at the rear entrance to the pool area.”

Despite the settlement, AJ’s parents say the pain remains overwhelming.

“It’s still fresh,” Juanita said. “My three-year-old daughter asks for her brother every day.

“There’s a saying there is a funeral after a funeral and I feel like we’re still in that funeral phase. The phone calls have stopped. The support team is not there as much as was before the services.

“But behind the scenes, we are not okay. We’re coping, but we’re not okay.”

The family now hopes speaking out will help prevent similar tragedies.

“Whenever you have a setting like that, you need lifeguards and gates to stop other families suffering a loss like we have,” AJ’s father Alexander said.

Finkel said lawmakers across the country were increasingly moving toward treating large short-term rentals as commercial properties rather than private homes.

He added that the Ealy family hopes stronger nationwide safety rules will eventually be introduced for resort-style rentals.

“It’s not just about getting people in the door,” Finkel said.

“It’s about getting them in the door and keeping them safe. They could have provided a safe hotel competition.

“What we know is that drownings are prevented by instituting layers of protection. And some of those most important layers are born and duty bound to the property owners and managers.

“They could have operated that water venue in a safe way. They’re the ones that are supposed to take that extra step and make sure that they have an aquatics expert on staff.

“They must think about the risks associated with the aquatic venue they put in place, not just considering the dollars and cents and whether or not it’ll attract people. They didn’t really realize what type of property they were operating.”

Finkel says the owners should have either placed lifeguards at the water-park, required guests to hire lifeguards during stays, or controlled pool access to shorten the period when the water could be used.

He also wants all necessary lifesaving equipment on hand should an incident occur.

“You can buy an defibrillator online for a couple hundred dollars, and it may save a child’s life. These are common-sense measures that need to be in place,” Finkel concluded.

“It’s not politics. It doesn’t matter what side of the aisle you’re on. We’re talking about instituting common sense measures that are proven to save children’s lives. Who can’t get behind that?

“It’s families like the Ealys and so many others who are going to go into state legislatures and even Congress asking lawmakers to put stronger protections in place.

“When that happens, we will save children’s lives.”

You can watch the full interview with the Ealy family here.