RICHMOND, Utah (AP) — A 12-year-old girl with a history of heart problems drowned in a school pool after having a contest with her friends to see who could hold their breath longest, officials say.
Kinsey Shaw drowned Saturday while swimming with friends at the Smithfield Recreation Center at Sky View High School.
Kinsey was a student at White Pine Middle School in Richmond.
Lt. Chad Jensen of the Cache County Sheriff's Office said Kinsey and her friends were holding their breath underwater in the pool.
"When she didn't come up, her friends notified lifeguards," Jensen said.
Lifeguards, a sheriff's deputy and emergency crews administered CPR to Shaw and were able to keep her alive for a short time.
Born with a bad heart, Kinsey had seven open-heart surgeries, as well as seizures and other health problems.
"In my opinion, it was her time to go," said Kinsey's mother Cheri Andrus. "I had heard numerous times from doctors, 'I'm sorry, there's nothing more I can do.' She's in a much better place now, I think. No pain. She's happy."
However, Andrus said she didn't think Kinsey's heart condition contributed to the drowning because she was in good health at the time of the accident.
Funeral services were scheduled for Tuesday in Richmond.