EASTPOINTE, Mich. – The Michigan appeals court has reinstated an involuntary manslaughter charge against a Detroit-area teacher who was blamed for the death of a teenager at a high school pool in suburban Detroit.
The charge against Johnathan Sails was thrown out by a Macomb County judge in 2015. But the appeals court on Thursday said there's enough evidence that Sails was "grossly negligent" by failing to provide immediate assistance to 14-year-old KeAir Swift.
Swift drowned at East Detroit High School in 2013. Prosecutors say Sails was assigned to monitor a remedial swim class but was in the bleachers with his back to the pool when Swift was struggling.
Defense attorney Robert Leonetti is disappointed. He says the boy's death was an accident, not a crime.