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Father of drowning victim helps build safety fences to prevent other deaths

Jason Sheffield’s mission is to educate families and hopes they can prevent a tragedy.

WINDCREST, Texas – Jason Sheffield was so moved to take action after his young son’s drowning that he changed careers to help avoid more similar deaths.

Sheffield’s 3-year-old son tragically died seven years ago in 2017. He now installs fences for Life Saver Pool Fence of the Hill Country to help other families avoid tragedies.

“He was the 90th child in 2016 to drown. One hundred seven actually drowned that year and died,” Sheffield said.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services’ child drowning statistics show 56 kids drowned in Texas in 2023. Three of those deaths happened in Bexar County.

Sheffield’s mission is to educate families in the hopes of saving lives.

He just finished installing a fence around Mary Vasquez’s backyard pool. She decided to have it installed after she noticed her grandson could open the backdoor.

“He is drawn to the water. The minute he comes out, that’s the first thing that he wants to do. He wants to go in the water. He’s just without any fear. He’s walking right into it,” she said.

For her, the fence cost is half the cost of a funeral and the price of having peace of mind.


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Patty Santos joined the KSAT 12 News team in July 2017. She has a proven track record of reporting on hard-hitting news that affects the community.

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