Christopher Gilbert Fighting For Life After White "Friends" Push Him Into Lake

Describing her reaction upon seeing her son for the first time at the hospital, George said: “I was devastated. I felt like my life had ended in that moment.

“My son is aspiring to be a medical doctor – my son is going to be a medical doctor. He got his master’s last year in biological science. He’s preparing for medical school so for this to have happened to him … I was just devastated.”

George recalled the conversation she had with the friend who pushed Gilbert into the lake. She remembered asking, “Why would you push my son in the lake, knowing he couldn’t swim?”

In response, the friend reportedly said: “Well ma’am, I didn’t know that man couldn’t swim.”

Gilbert replied: “Who is ‘that man?’ This is supposed to be amongst a group of friends. Who is ‘that man?’ Chris? Everybody knows he can’t swim.

“Even when we went to the restaurant, the owner of the restaurant even stated, ‘Everybody knows Chris can’t swim.’ He’s been coming here for two years. He’s always joking about it.”

According to Payne, Gilbert’s family wants police to arrest the person who allegedly pushed him into the lake. They are also seeking for the restaurant owner to be held liable for not keeping Chris safe as a patron of the establishment.

A change.org supporting the Gilbert family’s wishes had collected more than 2,600 signatures as of Sunday.

Gilbert had woken up as of Friday, was able to eat on his own and had been temporarily taken off life support, KNOE reported.