A 16-year-old Schlater youth, Lazerick "Peewee" Flowers, drowned Monday in a boating accident at Lake McNutt in Schlater.
"He was a sweet son. Sometimes we have trouble with our kids, but I never had any trouble with him," said his mother, Gloria Flowers.
Sheriff Ricky Banks said a group of teenagers were swimming back and forth to a paddle boat located about 40 yards offshore. None of the teenagers was wearing a life jacket, he said.
The paddle boat tipped over while Lazerick, who did not know how to swim, was in it.
One of the teenagers, Derius Sprat, attempted to save him, Banks said, but was pulled under water and had to let go.
The Leflore County Sheriff's Department received the call at 4:30 p.m., and volunteer firefighters from Schlater, Itta Bena and Money responded, as did others trained as first responders.
Gary Fulgham, county fire coordinator, said an initial drag on the lake broke a rope because of the cypress tree knees that line the bottom.
The Grenada Fire Department's dive and rescue crew was called to the scene around 5 p.m. John Williams, a diver, said it took between 20 to 30 minutes to recover the body.
Flowers said her son would be entering the eighth grade in August.
"He was always by my side. He was a fun-loving person who always had a smile on his face."
"He knew his time was near. Before he left the house, he asked if there was anything I needed. He said he wouldn't be coming back. Those were the last words he said to me," she said.
Lazerick also is survived by his father, seven brothers and five sisters.
Flowers said funeral arrangements were being made today at Century Funeral Home.
Tiffany Hill, a friend from Schlater, said she had known Lazerick for 10 years. The death came as a shock to her because the youth rarely went out onto the lake. They preferred, she said, to fish from the bridge.
Williams said it was tragic. "You always want it to be a rescue, but 85 percent of the time, it's not," he said.
