The grieving parents of a Texas girl who drowned during a scuba certification class have filed a lawsuit against two agencies alleging the child’s death was preventable.
On August 16, 2025, 12-year-old Dylan Harrison attended a private open water class purchased by her parents from Scubatoys, a local dive shop, according to FOX 4.
When the family reportedly arrived at The Scuba Ranch, a scuba training session located in nearby Terrell, they were told that their daughter would be placed in a group of seven students.
The lawsuit also alleges that the divemaster reassured Dylan’s parents before the class, telling them, “I’m not going to take my eyes off your daughter.”
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Dylan Harrison, 12, drowned while attending a private open water class in Terrell, Texas on August 16, 2025, according to a lawsuit.
(Fox News)
At the time of the class, Assistant Chief Deputy for the Collin County Sheriff’s Office William Armstrong was employed part-time as a scuba instructor, and had previously worked a full day as a deputy followed by a full overnight shift as a security officer at an investment firm, FOX 4 reported.
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As Dylan and her 12-year-old swimming buddy entered the water, Armstrong allegedly did not check to see if Dylan was properly weighed, the lawsuit allegedly states.
Dylan was last seen alive when the class initially went into the water at 9:36 am and resurfaced at 10:12 am after a miscommunication with a student.
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The lawsuit alleged that emergency services were not called to the scene until approximately 15 minutes later.
“Based on the amount of air left [Dylan’s] scuba tank on the surface before it went missing and the amount of air left in the tank when it was found, it can be assumed that [she] she was alive and breathing from her tank for several minutes after she was last seen,” the lawsuit revealed, according to FOX 4. “During this time, [Dylan] he was alone, in poor visibility, and could not reach the surface.”
After the incident, Armstrong resigned from his position with the Collin County Sheriff’s Office.
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The 40-page lawsuit alleges that Dylan’s death was preventable and the result of several failures after the industry turned a blind eye to safety concerns for several years.
Attorneys for the Harrison family reportedly point to a 2017 video of a staff meeting, in which Scubatoy owner Joe Johnson allegedly made dismissive comments about safety protocols within the company’s classrooms, FOX 4 reported.
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“All I know is that we killed, what? 4 people? 5 people? And we never took a deposition,” Johnson said in the video. “Our insurance company just settles. John Witherspoon says we can kill two people a year and ‘we’re fine’.”
Scubatoys, NAUI, PADI, Scuba Ranch and the Harrison family’s attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News Digital could not immediately locate an attorney representing Armstrong.
Original article source: 12-year-old reportedly alive underwater for minutes before fatal scuba class failure: lawsuit