MATT HEISTAND/Arizona Daily Wildcat Candles lay poolside at Corleone Residence Hall yesterday to mourn the March 9 drowning of a resident. Manuel C. Cruz, 18, died at University Medical Center after being pulled unconscious from the pool by students and a worker.

Corleone pool complies with safety regulations, school officials say

A student drowned March 8 in the pool at Corleone Residence Hall, police say.

Corleone Residence Hall resident Manuel C. Cruz, a pre-business freshman, died at University Medical Center on the afternoon of March 9 after he was pulled from the bottom of the pool of Corleone Residence Hall.

Officers from UAPD and Tucson Fire Department were called to the residence hall swimming pool on the afternoon of March 8 after Cruz was reportedly pulled from the pool by two female students and a Maintenance staff member.

The exact cause of death is still unknown pending autopsy reports, said University of Arizona Police Department Cmdr. Brian Seastone.

Cruz was resuscitated by paramedics and rushed to UMC where he died at 3:10 p.m.

Seastone said that according to three witnesses, Cruz and two students were lounging in the pool area when Cruz got into the pool and played for several minutes.

Seastone said that as Cruz swam over to the ladder, he went under the water, where he remained until the two students and the worker pulled him out.

Seastone said drugs and alcohol did not appear to be factors in the incident.

Cruz, who is from Sierra Vista and lived alone in the residence hall, is remembered for his sense of humor that would come out when people least expected it.

One neighbor, Dwan Depoe, a mechanical engineering freshman, said she admired Cruz for his spontaneity.

"One day, for no reason, he sang the entire soundtrack to 'Les Miserables,'" Depoe said. "There was never a dull moment with him."

Corleone residents said the death of a student in the residence hall pool was a shock and that not many people actually use the pool.

"I was sitting here (in his living room) and before you knew it, paramedics were rushing him away," said Ryan Lawler, an undeclared freshman. "It was all just really strange."

Lawler, whose apartment is directly across from the pool, said residents rarely use it.

Steve Holland, director of Risk Management, said that although the residence hall is property of the university, it follows the same city safety requirements as other apartment complex pools.

Holland said that although all of the facts about Cruz's death have not been found, the university would continue to strive for safety just as it has in the past.

"There's a lot of effort from Risk Management and Residence Life to promote safety in all of the residence halls already," Holland said.

Holland said that if something in particular arises in the ongoing investigation conducted by UAPD, then they will look at it more closely.

UAPD is investigating the death as accidental.