20-month-old girl dies after drowning in Port St. Lucie backyard pool
WPBF 25. NEWS STARTS WITH BREAKING NEWS. BREAKING NEWS RIGHT NOW AT NOON OUT OF MARTIN COUNTY. GOOD AFTERNOON. I’M TIFFANY KENNY, A HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR AT SOUTH FORK HIGH SCHOOL, HAS BEEN KILLED IN A CAR ACCIDENT RIGHT OUTSIDE CAMPUS. WE HAVE LIVE TEAM COVERAGE FOR YOU RIGHT NOW. WE’RE GOING TO START WITH THE ANGELA ROZIER WITH DETAILS THAT WE’RE JUST NOW LEARNING ABOUT THIS HEARTBREAKING ACCIDENT. ANGELA. TIFFANY. STILL A VERY ACTIVE SCENE HERE. THE CRASH SCENE HERE BEHIND ME, YOU CAN SEE CREWS HERE ACTIVELY WORKING HERE. WHAT WE KNOW IS, ACCORDING TO THE MARTIN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, THEY GOT A CALL AT AROUND 830 THIS MORNING ABOUT A FATAL CRASH HERE OUTSIDE THE ENTRANCE OF THE SCHOOL. AND WHEN THEY ARRIVED, THEY CONFIRMED THAT THE VICTIM WAS A SENIOR ON HIS WAY TO GRADUATION PRACTICE. AGAIN, NOW THIS IS VIDEO OF THAT MANGLED CAR HERE AT THE SCENE OUTSIDE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL. NOW, THE SHERIFF SAYS THE VICTIM HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS CHRISTOPHER BROOKE. HE WAS TRAVELING NORTHBOUND HERE ON SOUTHWEST PRATT WHITNEY ROAD WHEN HE FAILED TO SLOW DOWN FOR STOP TRAFFIC, AND INVESTIGATORS SAY HE REAR ENDED A DUMP TRUCK AND DIED ON THE SCENE AND IMPACT. THE SHERIFF SAYS THE. BROOKE’S GRANDPARENTS. THEY WERE HERE ON THE SCENE, AS WELL AS SOME OF HIS FRIENDS WHEN THIS ACCIDENT HAPPENED. UNFORTUNATELY, ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE ON SCENE THAT DIDN’T QUITE SEE THE CRASH BUT SAW THE SMOKE FROM THE CRASH, WAS ONE OF HIS FRIENDS. AND SO THEY RAN UP AND. AGAIN. HE SAYS THEY ARRIVED ON THE SCENE JUST MOMENTS AFTER THAT CRASH TOOK PLACE. HE SAYS THIS IS A HEARTBREAKING DAY FOR THE STUDENTS AS WELL AS STAFF MEMBERS HERE. NOW FOR MORE ON THAT STUDENT BE JOINED. MY COLLEAGUE RACHEL WILLIAMS IS LIVE OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL. RACHEL. ANGELA. WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS CHRISTOPHER BROOKS GREW UP HERE IN MARTIN COUNTY. HE WENT TO HOBE SOUND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MURRAY MIDDLE SCHOOL AND SCHOOL DISTRICT LEADERS TELL US HE WAS VERY INVOLVED IN A MEMBER OF THE BOWLING TEAM. THE STUDENT WAS ENROLLED IN OUR SCHOOLS FROM KINDERGARTEN THROUGH 12TH GRADE. HE WAS A LIFELONG MARTIN COUNTY STUDENT. THAT MAKES THE LOSS ALL THE MORE TRAGIC FOR US, AND IT JUST HITS US IN SO MANY AREAS. HE WAS INVOLVED IN SPORTS AT THE SCHOOL. HE WAS INVOLVED IN ONE OF OUR CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS. HE WAS INVOLVED IN THE VETERINARY PROGRAM AND JUST A HEARTBREAKING, HEARTBREAKING SITUATION. CONGRATULATION IS STILL SCHEDULED FOR THIS EVENING AT 7:00. WE’LL CONTINUE TO BRING YOU UPDATES AND LEARN AS WE CONTINUE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STUDENT. BUT FOR NOW, LIVE IN MARTIN COUNTY. RACHEL WILLIAMS, WPBF 25 NEWS. RACHEL AND ANGELA. THANK YOU. AND NOW WE WANT TO GO TO YASMINE JULMISSE, WHO’S BEEN FOLLOWING THIS STORY ALL MORNING. AND YASMINE, THIS TRAFFIC INVESTIGATION IS STILL GOING ON. THAT’S RIGHT. TIFFANY, AS YOU SAW THERE, RIGHT BEHIND ANGELA, A VERY ACTIVE SCENE STILL RIGHT NOW OFF OF SOUTHWEST BULLDOG WAY. NOW, THIS CRASH, AS YOU MENTIONED, HAPPENED AROUND 830 THIS MORNING. AND SO THIS IS HOURS LONG OF THE INVESTIGATION AND THE CLEARING THERE OF A DUMP TRUCK AND A CAR, AS ANGELA MENTIONED, CHRISTOPHER BROOKS, AS THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAID, WAS TRAVELING AND FAILED TO SLOW DOWN AND THEN HIT THE BACK OF A DUMP TRUCK IN THE AREA. SO AS YOU ARE TRAVELING THROUGHOUT THE AREA, MAYBE AN ALTERNATE ROUTE COULD BE BRIDGE ROAD AND KANNER HIGHWAY IN ORDER TO AVOID THE CARS IN THE BACKUPS HERE, THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAID THAT THESE CARS THAT ARE HERE HAVE BEEN THERE SINCE THE CRASH HAPPENED THIS MORNING. IT IS BEST TO AVOID THE AREA. THE MARTIN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT IS ALSO ASKING FAMILIES AND PEOPLE TO AVOID THE AREA, WHICH WILL BE SHUT DOWN FOR HOURS. TIFFANY YASMINE, THANK YOU. WE O
20-month-old girl dies after drowning in Port St. Lucie backyard pool
Updated: 1:29 PM EDT May 21, 2026
Video above: ‘On his way to graduation practice’: Florida senior dies in car accident outside school entranceA 20-month-old child involved in a drowning Tuesday night in a Port St. Lucie has died. It happened around 9 p.m. in the 3200 block of Southwest Crumpacker Street.Officers with the Port St. Lucie Police Department said a 19-year-old family member had opened a rear sliding glass door to let the family dogs outside and may have accidentally left it slightly ajar. At some point afterward, the toddler appears to have left the home unnoticed.She was later found submerged in a detached above-ground swimming pool in the backyard, police said.The child’s father discovered her and immediately alerted the child’s mother, who began performing CPR while calling for help. Responding officers noted the mother was actively performing lifesaving measures when they arrived at the scene.A neighbor who heard the family’s calls for help also contacted 911 and rushed over to assist until emergency crews arrived.The child was first taken by ambulance to Tradition Medical Center, where she was stabilized before being airlifted to Nemours Children’s Hospital. She died Wednesday night. Police say the exact amount of time the child was unaccounted for before being found is still under investigation.This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. —
A 20-month-old child involved in a drowning Tuesday night in a Port St. Lucie has died.
It happened around 9 p.m. in the 3200 block of Southwest Crumpacker Street.
Officers with the Port St. Lucie Police Department said a 19-year-old family member had opened a rear sliding glass door to let the family dogs outside and may have accidentally left it slightly ajar. At some point afterward, the toddler appears to have left the home unnoticed.
She was later found submerged in a detached above-ground swimming pool in the backyard, police said.
The child’s father discovered her and immediately alerted the child’s mother, who began performing CPR while calling for help. Responding officers noted the mother was actively performing lifesaving measures when they arrived at the scene.
A neighbor who heard the family’s calls for help also contacted 911 and rushed over to assist until emergency crews arrived.
The child was first taken by ambulance to Tradition Medical Center, where she was stabilized before being airlifted to Nemours Children’s Hospital.
She died Wednesday night.
Police say the exact amount of time the child was unaccounted for before being found is still under investigation.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.
Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.