Hartford Jury Clears Vulcan in Teen Pool Drowning Case

Case Background

On July 3, 2018, a hot and humid summer night in Hartford turned tragic at the Keney Park Pool. Sixteen-year-old Jaevon Whyte, along with other teenagers, entered the pool area after hours. The pool was closed, no lifeguards were on duty, and warning signs were in plain view. Despite the risks, Jaevon joined his friends in the water. By the early hours of July 4, he drowned.

His mother, Marilyn Whyte, believed that the death could have been prevented. Years earlier, the City of Hartford had installed a surveillance and security system at the pool after another drowning. The system, designed and installed by Vulcan Security Technologies, was supposed to alert officials if anyone entered the pool after hours. On the night Jaevon died, the system provided no warning.

Marilyn Whyte, as administratrix of her son’s estate, filed a lawsuit in 2020. She claimed that Vulcan’s defective product and broken promises played a role in her son’s death.

Cause that led to the dispute

Whyte’s complaint accused Vulcan of negligence and product liability. She argued that the company designed, built, and sold a system that could not withstand hot summer conditions, even though it was meant for use during that season. She said Vulcan failed to test the system properly, ignored design flaws, and failed to warn that the equipment might not work during extreme heat and humidity.

She claimed the system was supposed to act as a safeguard against unauthorized entry but failed completely. Without the promised alerts, city officials never knew that Jaevon and others were inside the pool that night.

Vulcan denied responsibility. It admitted contracting with Hartford to install the cameras but rejected the claims of defective design and misrepresentation. The company argued that Jaevon’s own decisions, not any product failure, caused his death.

Injury

The complaint