PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) — A toddler was airlifted to a hospital and remains in critical condition after being found submerged in a Port St. Lucie pool.
The Port St. Lucie Police Department said that officers responded to the 3200 block of SW Crumpacker Street following a call regarding a drowning involving a 20-month-old child on Thursday, around 9 p.m.
According to police, their preliminary investigations suggest that a 19-year-old family member opened the sliding glass door to let the family dogs outside, accidentally leaving it slightly ajar.
The report states that the young girl then exited the house unnoticed and was later found submerged in an above-ground swimming pool in the backyard.
Police said that the child’s father discovered her and immediately alerted her mother, who began performing CPR while calling for help.
A toddler was airlifted to a hospital and remains in critical condition after being found submerged in a Port St. Lucie pool. (WPEC)
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When officers arrived, they reported finding the mother actively trying to save her child. A neighbor, hearing the cries for assistance, called 911 and rushed over to help the family until emergency personnel arrived.
The child was transported to Tradition Medical Center, where she was stabilized before being airlifted to Nemours Children’s Hospital. Officials say that she remains in critical condition.
The investigation is ongoing, and authorities continue to look into the timeline of events leading up to the incident.