Man drowns in Miami River while celebrating 21st birthday – NBC 6 South Florida

The mother of a young man who drowned while celebrating his 21st birthday on a boat in the Miami River speaks out just days after the tragedy.

Trevon Darling had spent months planning the Friday night birthday party that ended with his death.

His mother, Lashawn Akins-Taylor, said the moment she heard something went wrong is still fresh in her mind.

“I got the call, I sat there doing my hair, I got that call, I hurried, I drove through red lights, I don’t care if my car overturned and suffered trauma,” she said.

According to a police report, Darling was on a boat returning to the dock around 9:30 p.m. Friday when he jumped from behind.

Investigators said the captain had returned to help along with other boaters who jumped into the water, but the rescue efforts were unsuccessful.

Liebling was rushed to the hospital after divers recovered him, but he was later pronounced dead.

“He was like everything, I can’t lie … he was my hero,” said Akins-Taylor. “With us it’s not even day after day, it’s hour after hour. If I don’t have a meltdown, his aunt has a meltdown, his grandmother has a meltdown, it’s like everyone has a meltdown.”

Darling’s family said he could swim and wait for the autopsy results. They said they think someone should be held accountable.

“Because if you are on a private yacht that someone owns, you should have been held liable. He should have returned, he should have been alive on that boat, he should have returned alive,” said Aunt Tawana Akins.

Akins-Taylor said her son’s career as a fashion designer is in full swing right now.

“He always wanted his mother to be happy and always did everything to make me happy. I haven’t had sad times with Trevon,” she said. “He graduated two years ago. He got his first job, took a month to get his designer career rolling.”

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