TREDYFFRIN TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WHTM) -- Charges have been filed after a three-year-old drowned in a stormwater retention pond in Pennsylvania earlier this month.
Imani Lewis, 28, is facing involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment charges in connection with the death on Sept. 2 in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, about 64 miles east of Lancaster.
The Chester County District Attorney's Office said police were called around 6:49 p.m. Sept. 2 to Wilson Farm Park for a reported missing three-year-old.
Lewis was working as the child's nanny at the time and called 911.
After a search, police found the child unresponsive in a stormwater retention pond. Emergency life-saving measures were unsuccessful.
Police said Lewis had been in contact with multiple people through phone calls and texts before, during, and after the child's disappearance.
Surveillance video, police said, showed Lewis distracted on her phone as the child used playsets at the park.
Tredyffrin Police Chief Michael Beaty stated, “This is a devastating death for the victim’s family. Our entire community has felt the effects of it.”
Chester County District Attorney Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe said, “This is just a sad and tragic case we all wish never happened.”
Lewis was arraigned Friday and committed to Chester County Prison, unable to post $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 26.