High schooler paralyzed in pool party accident defies the odds ahead of graduation
By Daniel Curren and Gray News staff
PORT DICKINSON, N.Y. (WBNG/Gray News) – One year after a swimming accident left him paralyzed, a young man from New York is proving that nothing can hold him back as he prepares to graduate from high school.
June 14, 2024, was a regular day for students at Chenango Valley High School. Then-junior AJ Presto was among those celebrating the start of summer.
“It was the last day of school. I had just finished my English regents,” AJ Presto told WBNG. “I wanted to go to a pool party to hang out with my friends.”
What happened next would change the 17-year-old’s life forever.
“As I was diving through a pool tube, it was moved away from me, causing me to readjust myself in that sort of direction,” AJ Presto said. “Which ended up breaking my neck to the shallow to deep ends.”
After four other party attendees rescued AJ Presto from the pool, paramedics rushed him to the hospital, where he underwent a nine-hour surgery on his spinal cord.
“My vitals dropped multiple times, and they weren’t quite sure if I was going to make it,” he said. “But thankfully, I pulled through.”
But that was just the beginning.
As the Presto family reaches the one-year anniversary of AJ’s injuries, they’ve seen him spend 28 days in the ICU, three months in a rehab facility in Baltimore and undergo nine surgeries.
“I was a hospice social worker for 18 years before this happened, and I’ve seen lots of pain and lots of hurt,” said Sarah Presto, AJ’s mother. “Nothing compared to the emotional pain that he’s experienced from this.”
During that time, AJ Presto’s hometown was rallying around him with several fundraisers and signs of support.
“I didn’t really believe in community and people that much,” he said. “Then, after this, I’ve looked at my Presto Strong page [on Facebook] crying because of all the support I’ve gotten.”
“It was unbelievable to see the amount of support that people showed,” Sarah Presto said. “Especially in the beginning, too, with all the fundraisers.”
The community, along with AJ Presto’s family and friends, pushed him through the first year of his recovery. Now, he’s ready to regain his independence.
“I can’t be sitting forever, and I can’t be sad forever,” he said. “I have to move on from this and do something with my life.”
Although the days are still tough and a long road remains ahead, AJ Presto has seen mental and physical improvements throughout the process.
“I’m finding more ways to get outside and hang out with people,” he said. “I’m getting more strength back and more twitching in my legs and my hands.”
AJ Presto attended his senior prom last week and celebrated his 18th birthday Wednesday. Up next is high school graduation.
“I wasn’t even going to go to the big graduation until I went to prom and realized how much support I actually have and how people already know I’m in a wheelchair,” he said. “So, I’ve decided to go to the main graduation and to pursue all these things because I’m just grateful for everybody.”
AJ Presto will continue recovering as he looks to further break down his physical barriers. His graduation is in a couple of weeks.
Copyright 2025 WBNG via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
Recently graduated DC firefighter falls to death from rooftop party
By Bob Barnard
Firefighter falls to her death during graduation party
A terrible accident claimed the life of a D.C. Fire and EMS cadet. Sadia Williams died after falling from a rooftop terrace while celebrating her graduation with classmates. FOX 5’s Bob Barnard reports tonight.
The Brief
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- A 21-year-old who just graduated from the D.C. Fire and EMS cadet class fell to her death during a rooftop party.
- Sadia Williams celebrating her graduation with classmates on Friday, Aug. 23 when the tragic incident occured.
- D.C. police say they do not believe foul play was involved, though the circumstances are still under investigation.
WASHINGTON – A terrible accident claimed the life of a D.C. Fire and EMS cadet.
Sadia Williams died after falling from a rooftop terrace while celebrating her graduation with classmates.
What we know:
Sadia Williams was just 21 years old. A firefigher and EMT who was part of the D.C. Fire and EMS cadet class that just graduated last Friday.
Williams had been assigned to engine company 13 in Southwest. You can see the American and D.C. flags at the station at half staff.
Williams was apparently celebrating with other cadets at a four-story townhouse on 16th Street, NE, when she fell from the rooftop around 1 a.m. The rooftop is surrounded by metal fencing.
D.C. police say they do not believe foul play was involved, though the circumstances are still under investigation.
What they’re saying:
FOX 5 spoke to a woman who lives across the street and witnessed the aftermath. an image she says she can’t get out of her head.
“It’s sad because even seeing online, this young lady had a promising future and now it’s gone,” a neighbor said.
“I have family who are firefighters as well and they go through so much that they deserve to be praised and someone who wants to be a part of that, wants to go in and every day risk their lives to save someone else, it’s a beautiful thing,” D.C. resident Terrell Wilson told FOX 5.
“To lose your life so early and haven’t even gotten a chance to truly find out who you are, what is you’re calling in this life, what else you can do in this world? It’s truly tragic,” he continued.
Dig deeper:
Williams graduated with her cadet class last week. They are all D.C. high school graduates.
The ceremony was recorded on video. We’re told the cadets still had two more weeks of training at the D.C. fire academy before going to her firehouse.
Dave Hoagland is president of the D.C. Firefighters Union.
“This is incredibly tragic news. She just graduated on Friday and was celebrating with her classmates and it’s just a really tough loss for the department and all D.C. firefighters. We deployed our peer support team down to the training academy today to sit with her class and talk through things and their feelings and just to make sure that everybody’s processing everything,” Hoagland said.
FOX 5 is told her body remains at the Medical Examiner’s Office at this time.
Even though hers was not an in-service death, Hoagland says Williams will receive an honorary send off.
Year 12 students at Loreto Kirribilli sent home after end of school celebrations take a turn
An end of school celebration for Year 12 students turned into disaster after teen girls and staff were put “at risk”, forcing the principal to cancel classes on Wednesday.
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Classes at a top private Sydney girls school will be cancelled after an end of year celebration put hundreds of students and staff “at risk”.
Teenagers at Loreto Kirribilli, in the city’s Lower North Shore, organised a “spontaneous rave” to celebrate the end of high school on Tuesday.
However, the festivities took a sudden turn with girls accused of “behaviour that was unsafe and disrespectful”, principal Nicole Archard wrote in a letter to parents.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, about 130 students were sent home and classes on Wednesday have been cancelled.
“Collectively, their actions placed students and staff at risk, caused damage to property and disrupted the learning environment,” Ms Archard said.
“Such behaviour is taken very seriously, as it undermines the respectful, safe and caring culture we strive to maintain at Loreto Kirribilli.”
Year 12 students were sent home after a “spontaneous rave” put other kids and staff “at risk”, the school’s principal said. Picture: Richard Dobson
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It is understood the “rave” is a longstanding tradition before the girls graduate, but the event is not authorised by the school.
One parent, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Sydney Morning Herald the “rave” started in the morning in a common room.
It then moved to the toilets after teachers tried to put an end to it.
“It has been running for years, and even though it perhaps went too far and there was some unintentional damage, the students have never been punished before,” they said.
Only roughly 20 students – who were not involved – remained in class on Tuesday.
The girls who were sent home have been urged to continue their studies on Wednesday.
Ms Archard said the girls will be permitted to return on Thursday ahead of their graduation on Friday.
“We ask that you take the opportunity to discuss this incident with your daughter and reinforce the importance of personal responsibility, respect for self and others, and care for our school environment,” the letter continued.
Loreto Kirribilli is a Catholic school for girls from kindergarten to Year 12.
There are more than 1000 students enrolled.
School fees range from $24,000 to $35,000 per year.
