Tragedy as schoolboy, 15, is left in vegetative state after doing flip off pier to impress his mates before landing ‘face first on the water’

A schoolboy has been left in a vegetative state after he did a somersault off a pier to impress his friends and landed face first in the water.

Jack Dolan, 15, went to the beach alone for the first time on Sunday, June 23, jumping from Stone Pier in Margate, Kent.

He had made the move dozens of times before, most recently during a holiday in Egypt in September, but this time he landed head first in the water.

The blow was so violent that he was knocked unconscious and his brain was so badly damaged that scans showed it was beyond repair.

When the doctors turned off his life support, Jack was miraculously breathing on his own, but that’s about all his body can do. He won’t recover.

Now his stepfather Dave Dolan and mother Lisa are desperately trying to raise money to move, so they can get Jack out of hospital and care for him themselves until he dies.

He had made the move dozens of times before, most recently during a holiday in Egypt in September (pictured), but this time he landed head first on the water

The impact of the jump was so violent that he was knocked unconscious and his brain was so badly damaged that scans show it is beyond repair.

Jack’s stepfather Dave said the jump from Stone Pier (pictured) was three or four metres high, but if Jack had landed a quarter turn one way or the other he probably would have been fine.

Dave, 35, who raised Jack as his own, said the teenager was effectively in a “grey zone.” Experts don’t know how long he will survive. It could be weeks or years.

“I think he misjudged it and hit his face in the water, knocking him unconscious,” said a distraught Dave.

‘It was only three or four metres and if he had landed a quarter turn one way or the other he probably would have been fine.

‘That’s why we can’t be mad at him. He’s done it so many times, there’s no guilt.

‘I know he was laughing, I can imagine it, he was laughing and acting like a complete show-off.

“The last thing he would know is that he would be happy.”

It was the first time Jack went to the beach without his mom and dad, who were very protective of him because he has ADHD and often acts thoughtlessly.

Now his stepfather Dave Dolan and mother Lisa (pictured) are desperately trying to raise money to move so they can get Jack out of hospital and care for him themselves until he dies.

A tragic final photo shows Jack just half an hour before it happened, laughing as he arrives at Margate Station with a friend

Video footage from his holiday in Egypt in September shows him laughing and making the same motion from the side of a pier

“It was the first time we had him do that,” Dave continued.

“We always said no, because we were quite strict. He had ADHD and he acts before he thinks.

“But he was 15 and we wanted to give him a little more freedom.”

Jack, a pupil at Howard School in Medway, was there that day with four or five friends and his girlfriend.

The teenager probably didn’t realize how high the pier was, fell unconscious and drowned, although he wasn’t in the water long before being pulled out.

A tragic final photo shows Jack, just half an hour before the incident, smiling as he arrives at Margate Station with a friend.

Video footage from his holiday in Egypt in September shows him laughing and making the same motion from the edge of a pier.

Dave, who lives in Rainham, Kent, said he was proud of Jack’s friends for their actions following the terrible accident.

One of them called 999, while his girlfriend immediately contacted Jack’s mother, who rushed to the popular beach resort.

The teenager was treated by paramedics before being airlifted to King’s College Hospital, but MRI scans show his brain is beyond repair.

When the doctors turned off the ventilator, to his surprise the young man was able to breathe on his own, but that was all his body could do.

Doctors aren’t sure he has weeks or even years to live, but he will need 24-hour care, something the Dolans can’t provide in their current apartment.

“He’s in a gray area,” said Dave, a supervisor at a facilities management company.

The family (pictured together) – including Jack’s sisters Faith, ten, and Grace, eight – are currently living in social housing and hope to move into a home suitable for Jack as soon as possible.

The family have set up a Just Giving page to help them make the adjustments when they get a new home and to pay for the final funeral costs. So far it has raised £12,000 of its £20,000 target with 451 supporters donating

‘He is in terminal care and although his body is fine, his brain is dead.

‘He can’t go to a children’s hospice, because you have to be close to death. He’s off the ventilator and not breathing, but he’s not doing anything else.

His eyes blink sometimes, but most of the time he sleeps.

‘We would love to take him home with us, but we live in a maisonette and can’t have him here.

‘We need two reception rooms, a downstairs closet and a wet room.’

They were given the choice of placing him in a nursing home, sending him to a foster home, or taking him home.

The family, including Jack’s sisters Faith, ten, and Grace, eight, are currently living in social housing and hope to move into a home suitable for Jack as soon as possible.

If they can find a new home, they need to do the renovations as quickly as possible so that it can accommodate Jack and the amount of equipment he needs.

Jack currently suffers from dystonia, a condition in which the muscles move uncontrollably and painfully.

The family also needs help finding a wheelchair to accommodate Jack’s needs, while creating and maintaining a new normal for his two younger sisters.

They have set up a Just Giving page to help them make the adjustments when they are re-homed and to pay for the final funeral costs. So far £12,000 has been raised of the £20,000 target from 451 donors.

Dave says it’s the least they can do for Jack.

“We’ve taken good care of him so far and I won’t turn my back on him now,” Dave added.

“We want to take him home as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, Lisa, 33, is learning how to care for Jack from doctors and nurses in London, and will be giving up her job in finance.

Sam Cass, who organised the crowdfunding for Jack, described him as ‘the biggest joker, with a heart of gold.’

He added: ‘He loves showing off to girls and never goes out without doing his hair.

‘He loves his family, does everything for his sisters and with this fundraiser we want to relieve them of that burden a little.

“A lot of people love Jack and I’m sure they all want the family to not have to go through this at this time.”