NewsNation

Family sues after child drowns in hotel pool

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The family of a little girl who drowned in a Cordova, Tennessee, hotel pool last week is now filing a lawsuit against the hotel chain.

Dior Thedford was between 4 and 5 years old when she drowned June 27 in the pool of a Comfort Inn & Suites hotel on North Germantown Parkway.


Now, her family has retained Daniel, Williams & Associates, PLLC to investigate the circumstances surrounding Dior’s death, and to “hold any responsible parties accountable.”

“I am truly devastated by the loss of my precious baby, Dior. We are seeking answers and justice to ensure that no other family has to go through this unimaginable pain,” said Dior’s father, Julius Thedford, in a news release.

A little after 12:30 a.m., officers responded to the hotel where a little girl had fallen into a swimming pool. She was taken to a hospital where she later died.

Hotel guests said they saw Dior and another little girl playing just before the accident.

The guests told NewsNation affiliate WREG in a previous interview that they were about to go into their room when the manager asked them to call 911. They then performed CPR on the child for 15 to 20 minutes before first responders arrived.

They also said the pool door was unlocked and the children were “unsupervised.”

“I will do everything in my power to honor Dior’s memory and to prevent such tragedies from happening in the future,” Julius Thedford said.

Anyone with information regarding the drowning is asked to contact Daniel, Williams & Associates, PLLC at 713-229-9997.