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MILWAUKEE - Thirteen-year-old Stephan Kingue says he's cried each morning since he watched his friend drown Tuesday in Racine County.

Stephan and his younger brother Malcolm were with 14-year-old Darieus Nelson on their gym teacher's boat near Burlington.

Darieus seemed confident when he jumped in Browns Lake.

"He said he could swim like Michael Phelps," recounted Stephan.

However, it soon became painfully clear that Darieus could not swim.  He started struggling in the water.  Stephan tried to bring his friend a life jacket.

"He was pulling me under because I'm little.  I only weigh like 80 pounds," Stephan told TODAY'S TMJ4 reporter Tom Murray. "I kind of thought it was my fault because I didn't do what I could to help him."

The group of four boys went on the field trip with 36-year-old Michael Hicks. He's their gym teacher at Darrel Hines Academy and also volunteered to drive them to a free summer fitness program for teens at Squeeze Fitness in South Milwaukee.

The boys went to the lake near Burlington after their workout session Tuesday morning.

"We all had permission from our parents," said Stephan.

Nelson's family maintains they did not give Hicks permission to take Darieus on the boat outing. Hicks has not talked publicly, but his attorney said his client believed he had the blessing of Darieus's mother.

Hicks tried to rescue his student, but Darieus went under and did not return to the surface.

"Mr. Hicks told him, 'If you don't know how to swim, please don't jump in,'" Stephan explained.

In honor of Darieus Nelson, the owners of Squeeze Fitness decided to rename their boot camp in his honor.

"The Web site, the t-shirts, everything's going to be dedicated to Darieus," said owner Shannon Carney. "He was very motivating to the other kids. He worked very hard."