Madison County mother honors teenager who died in drowning incident
MADISON COUNTY, Ky (WTVQ)- With the weather heating up and kids now out of school, many families are heading to the lakes and beaches to spend a day out on the water.
But one Madison County mother is encouraging safety, now three years after she lost her son in a drowning incident.
Emanuel Prewitt was a rising star at Madison Central High School. The 17-year-old played football and was in the honors program.
“Emmanuel Allen Prewitt. He was something special, I’ll just tell you. He was super smart. Everybody that you talk to will tell you he was a braniac. He was all about statistics and numbers,” recalls Kelly Prewitt, Emanuel’s mom.
It was exactly three years ago Saturday his family’s whole world changed.
Manny- as he was called- went swimming with some of his friends on Lake Herrington, when he suddenly went missing.
“One of his friend’s grandmothers called me and told me what had happened. We rushed over to Lake Herrington.”
After several days of searching, his body was recovered. Manny had drowned.
“Since then, it’s just been my personal mission, i guess, to leave a legacy behind for him,” says Prewitt.
In her son’s memory- Prewitt started “Swim Smart Manny Prewitt Legacy, Incorporated”, a nonprofit aimed at educating people on the dangers of an open body of water. It also teaches the importance of water safety.
In partnership with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, the organization built a life jacket loaner station at Lake Reba in Richmond. The loaner station opened in 2022 and provides free access to U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets.
“If there’s like one person that we can save off of doing all of this, then our work towards doing it is totally worth it,” says Prewitt.
According to Kentucky state law, all occupants on a boat are required to have access to life jackets. State law also requires children under 12 years of age to wear a life jacket. Prewitt says the organization has now raised money for thirteen more life jacket loaner stations. She’s now looking for volunteers to help build them near Kentucky’s bodies of water- including at Lake Herrington, where she lost her son.
She now shares this advice for the community.
“Any time you’re out on a body of water, whether it be a lake or a pool or whatever. Anytime you’re in the water, you need to be cautious. And aware of your surroundings.”
The Prewitt family and those who knew Manny held a memorial at Lake Reba, beginning at 7 p.m. There was a balloon release and moment of silence in memory of Manny.
