Teen dies of injury from pool accident

By Scott Sloan - ssloan@herald-leader.com

A 14-year-old girl who was trapped under water in a condominium complex's pool a week ago has died of a resulting brain injury.

Kiah Milsom suffered a “severe anoxic brain injury,” or an injury from a lack of oxygen, according to the Fayette County coroner's office.

She died at 1:54 p.m. Friday at University of Kentucky Hospital, where she was taken after the incident in which her arm was sucked into a drain at the bottom of the pool.

Emergency workers freed her, but the coroner estimates she was submerged for about 20 minutes.

Kiah was with two friends, both also juveniles, and had been swimming in the pool at the Raintree Condominium complex at 421 Redding Road at about 4 a.m. July 20.

The uninjured youths were charged with criminal trespassing, police said.

Betsy Howard, the mother of one of the uninjured juveniles, a 14-year-old girl, told the Herald-Leader last week that the youths had used the pool before.

The two girls and a boy, also 14, were having a sleepover at Howard's house, which is near the complex, she said.

She said the teens were good children who did not use alcohol or illegal drugs. She said that she was asleep when the trio left her house.

“They knew it (using the pool) was OK during the day. Of course they knew it was wrong to sneak out and go swimming at night ...” she said. “This is just a horrible, horrible accident.”.

Milward-Southland is in charge of arrangements, which have not yet been set.