SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — Two families are suing the City of South Haven after a young couple drowned in summer 2022.
Emily MacDonald, 19, and her boyfriend Kory Ernster, 22, were swimming on South Haven's south beach in August.
The couple, from the east side of the state in Novi and Columbus Township, had been dating for five years, and were on vacation with Kory's family.
They were pulled from Lake Michigan by other beach-goers who attempted CPR before first responders arrived. Both were taken to the hospital where they later died.
Lisa MacDonald, Emily's mother, filed the lawsuit with Ernster's family. She spoke to 13 ON YOUR SIDE about her daughter's legacy in September 2022.
"They're not just another number," MacDonald said. "They are two young people that had their whole lives ahead of them, and it was taken away in just a matter of minutes."
The lawsuit says the couple went swimming around 1 p.m. when there was a yellow flag warning at the beach. Their families are arguing that the conditions were more dangerous than that.
They said many others have drowned due to the same issue.
"Once the shock wore off a little bit, I found this whole thing about how the lifeguard issue has been an problem for 10 years or more," MacDonald said.
Lisa created a Facebook page called "SAVE LIVES...HIRE LIFEGUARDS." She hoped to use it to bring attention to the need for lifeguards in South Haven.
"Whatever I can do to make as much noise as possible, and to get people to stand up and listen," MacDonald said at the time.
The families are seeking more than $25,000 in the case, though a specific number has not been released.
"If someone can learn something or gain something from what I've been through, I almost feel like it's my responsibility," MacDonald said. "Nothing will bring our kids back, but if we can save one person, that's what matters."
"I'll never know if that would've happened if there was a lifeguard," she added, "but I just truly feel that from all the research and all the outpouring of letters that I've received, my daughter would probably still be here if there were lifeguards on that beach."
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