Child becomes fifth drowning accident victim in two weeks
Memorial Day Weekend traditionally marks the beginning of “Swimming Pool Season” in the Greater Houston area, when public and municipal swimming pools open their gates to those seeking relief from the heat and humidity of an early summer. Thanks to a fateful combination of chance and circumstance, the 2019 season is off to an unusually deadly start with 5 reported drowning accidents in a two-week period.
In the latest incident, KTRK-TV and the Houston Chronicle are reporting that around 8:00 p.m. Friday Fort Bend County deputies were called to the 3400 block of Tamarron Parkway. On arrival, the responders began CPR on a 6-year-old boy who had been found in a swimming pool. Rescuers were able to restore the victims pulse and he was transported first to Memorial Hermann-Katy before being airlifted to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in critical condition.
Update
The 6-year-old boy who was the victim of the Friday drowning accident mentioned above died on Sunday, June 9th. He becomes the fifth drowning death in two weeks where the victim was less than seven years old.
As mentioned above, in addition to the above-mentioned accident, there have been 4 accidental drowning deaths involving children less than 7 years old in Greater Houston since Memorial Day.
Monday, May 27: At around 5:30 p.m., first responders were summoned to a home on Windcross Court in Katy on a “CPR in progress” call. Investigators later determined that the victim was one of two girls who had been briefly left unattended at poolside while their mothers went inside the residence to get towels. When the victim feel into the pool, her companion ran into the residence to inform the adults of what had happened. The adults pulled the child from the pool and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. The child was transported to Texas Children’s Hospital West where she was admitted in “extremely critical condition.” Unfortunately, the 2-year-old died within a few days of the accident.
Monday, May 27: About 3 hours later, at around 8:30 p.m., emergency personnel received another “CPR in progress” call from a residence on Paintbrush Dawn Court in Katy. When they arrived, they were informed that the female toddler had been found unresponsive in a hot tub connected to the residence’s backyard swimming pool but no one was certain how long the child had been in the water. The victim was also transported to Texas Children’s West and admitted to Intensive Care in “extremely critical condition.” The child, who was reported to have been 2 years old, did not survive.
Friday, May 31: At about 9:00 p.m., a 6-year-old boy was found unconscious in a swimming pool at the Vineyard Trace Apartments on the 15000 block of Kuykendahl in northwest Harris County. Although first responders were able to resuscitate the child, after he was transported to a local hospital it was determined that his injury was so extensive that recovery would be impossible. The child’s mother consented to his removal from life support on Sunday (June 2nd) and he was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
Investigators from the Harris County Sheriff’s Department later determined that the child, who had been left in the care of a babysitter while his mother was at work, had slipped away from the babysitter and had climbed a fence to gain access to the pool. According to KTRK-TV of Houston, the pool had been ordered closed by the Harris County Public Health Department and its gate was padlocked at the time of the accident.
Sunday, June 2: Around 3:00 p.m. emergency medical personnel responded to a report of a drowning The Enclave Apartments on the15000 block of West Airport in Sugarland. Upon arrival, they were informed that the victim, a 3-year-old boy, had been found unresponsive in the apartment complex’s swimming pool but that no one was certain how long the child had been in the water prior to being discovered. Despite the best efforts of rescuers, both at the scene and while en-route, the child could not be revived and was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at a local emergency room.
After examining video from a security camera, and taking statements from witnesses, investigators from the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Department were able to determine that the child was part of a family gathering at the pool and had been wearing “floaties” prior to the accident. When the family meal was served someone removed the floaties so the child could eat with the rest of the group. After eating, the child was observed sitting on the edge of the pool before falling into the water.
Comments
With one exception, the drowning accidents mentioned here appear to be tragic accidents that involve only brief lapses in supervision of children by adults who were present at the time. Although our drowning accident lawyer has noted several news reports that raise the possibility of negligence in one of these accidents, we will wait until more details become available before discussing that tragic loss of a young life.
We invite you to re-visit our website for more information on these, and other, drowning accidents from across the country as well as important information that will be of interest to those who have lost a family member in what may well have been a preventable drowning accident.
