Child drowns after going into Fort Lauderdale backyard pool
FORT LAUDERDALE - A child who was rushed to the hospital after being pulled from a backyard pool in Fort Lauderdale has died.
Police said when officers arrived at a home in the 1800 block of NW 15th Place just after 7 p.m., the boy was unresponsive. They immediately began CPR. He was then taken to Broward Health Medical Center on advanced life support but he did not survive.
A neighbor who did not wish to be identified in this report said she saw the ambulance leaving Thursday night and then saw a woman rush outside the home and collapse on the ground in grief.
"She was totally shocked. She was totally out of it. And as a mother, I could understand. You know how she felt. That was a baby. That was a baby," she said.
"Four years old, drowned in the pool. It broke my heart. Very sad. But all I could do is pray for the family," she added.
Police have not described the circumstances that led up to the drowning or who was at the home when it happened.
According to Stop Drowning Now, drowning is fast and silent and can happen in as little as 20-60 seconds. Florida leads the nation in child drowning deaths. The Florida Department of Children and Families data shows that at least 97 kids drowned in the last year.
Florida law requires all pools built after 2000 to have a pool barrier or some kind of fencing around it. And there are certain requirements for that.
But if you have children, it is recommended that you have layers of protection. In addition to the fence, consider childproof locks or alarms on all windows or doors.
The biggest thing you can do to ensure children are safe in the pool is to give them formal swimming lessons and have someone supervise them closely.
