Stamford lifeguard charged in near drowning incident

<p>The lifeguard on duty the day of a near drowning at the Chelsea Piers pool in Stamford is facing criminal charges.&nbsp;</p>

News 12 Staff

Sep 6, 2017, 11:50 PM

Updated 2,652 days ago

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The lifeguard on duty the day of a near drowning at the Chelsea Piers pool in Stamford is facing criminal charges. 
Zachary Stein, 23, of New Canaan, turned himself in to police Wednesday. He was charged with risk of injury to a minor and reckless endangerment. He is accused of failing to see 5-year-old Adam Khattak, who was underwater for about four minutes on Aug. 3. 
Police say Stein did perform CPR on the boy and was able to revive him. The boy had to be airlifted to Yale New Haven Children's Hospital and made a recovery. 
Doctors say even though Adam is doing well now, they aren't sure if he will have any long-term effects from the incident. He was enrolled at a summer camp when the incident occurred. 
Stein's defense attorney Mark Sherman says his client has been a full-time lifeguard at Chelsea Piers for over five years.
"Not every accident or mistake is a crime, especially when dealing with first responders," says Sherman. 
Chelsea Piers said in a statement that they were surprised about Stein's arrest, especially since he was one of the first responders credited with saving the boy's life.
Stein was released on a promise to appear in court on Sept. 19.