Questions surrounding chaotic moments at Sandcastle during ‘medical incident’

WEST HOMESTEAD, Pa. — A man died after he was found unresponsive in a pool at Sandcastle Waterpark Sunday afternoon. Witnesses told Channel 11 it was frightening for many families.

Allegheny County Police officials said they were called to the park to assist West Homestead Police around 3:21 p.m.

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Park employees attempted lifesaving measures on the 37-year-old man until paramedics could get to the park. He was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead at 4:53 p.m.

Homicide detectives started an investigation, but no foul play is suspected in the man’s death.

A witness sent a video to Channel 11, which appears to show medics working to revive someone near the edge of a pool.

The man collapsed while exiting the pool and was taken to a nearby hospital, according to the spokesperson. The park stayed open and was under the self-imposed limit of 25% capacity.

Parkgoers tell Channel 11 it was extremely traumatic and some of them left right after the incident.

“I saw groups of families with their children started exiting. I know one family I heard, they seemed really upset,” one of the people who was there when it happened.

In a video, you can see the large group of people who surrounded the 37-year-old. Some patrons expressed concerns about the large group to Channel 11 via social media.

On Monday, Channel 11 reached out to Sandcastle for clarification on its COVID-19 regulations including:

• What the “predetermined capacity limit” is and how many people were there yesterday?
• If Sandcastle is reevaluating its social distancing policies and if the waterpark believes Sunday’s incident was handled correctly.

Sandcastle’s spokesman, Nick Paradise, said the park was below the 25% capacity, but that specific park attendance isn’t disclosed.

Paradise said he received the other questions and passed them along.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has not released the man’s name or cause of death yet.

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