Boy, 9, Drowns In Pool In Lansing
UPDATED 06/29/12 11:14 a.m.
MUNSTER, Ind. (CBS) -- Police in Lansing are investigating after a 9-year-old boy drowned in a swimming pool.
Christian Reese of Chicago was pronounced dead at 7:16 p.m. Thursday at Community Hospital in Munster, Ind., according to the Lake County, Ind., Coroner's office, CBS 2's Susanna Song and WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser report.
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Earlier that day, Christian was at his grandmother's house in the 2500 block of East 183rd Street in Lansing, when he decided to climb over the fence to a neighbor's yard to go swimming, along with his two siblings, ages 10 and 11, police said.
The neighbor did not know anyone was in the pool and was taking a shower, but soon heard frantic pounding on the door. Police say the other two children were yelling and screaming hysterically that Reese was underwater.
The neighbor dove into the pool and pulled Christian out. Meanwhile, his grandmother called 911 upon hearing the other two children's screams.
But Christian had been underwater for several minutes, and was not breathing when paramedics arrived. He was pronounced dead not long afterward by doctors at the hospital.
"This is a very tragic incident," Lansing police Detective Sgt. Scott Bailey said in a news release. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family."
Neighbor Sakira Jackson, who lives down the street, says the incident is a wake-up call for her.
"I'm a grandmother, so that, I can't even imagine. I let my babies play in the pool, but I never leave them. I can't imagine what that would feel like," Jackson said. "I heard about a kind of thing you can put in the pool that makes a noise so you'll know that they're in the water. Something as soon as the water breaks, it sounds off, so if there's kids around, it'll just make a lot of noise."
