PORT ST. LUCIE – A 20-month-old Port St. Lucie girl remains in critical condition after being found submerged in a family pool in the 3200 block of Southwest Crumpacker Street, Port St. Lucie on May 19, according to Port St. Lucie Police reports.
Officers responded to the home at about 9 p.m., May 19 to reports of a possible drowning.
The child’s father found the girl underwater in a detached above-ground swimming pool in the backyard of the home, according to police reports. The child’s mother started CPR while calling out for assistance, according to police reports.
When officers arrived, the mother was still actively engaging in lifesaving efforts, according to police reports.
A neighbor, who heard the mother calling for help and alerted 911, also was on the scene to render assistance, according to police reports.
The child was taken d by ambulance to Tradition Medical Center in Port St. Lucie, where she was stabilized before being airlifted to Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando where she remains in critical condition, according to police reports.
Preliminary investigation found that a 19-year-old family member reportedly opened the rear sliding glass door to let the family dogs outside and may have inadvertently left the door slightly ajar, according to police reports.
At some point thereafter, the girl left the house unnoticed.
It is unknown how long the child was unaccounted for before being discovered in the pool.
This remains an active and ongoing investigation.
Port St. Lucie Police reminds residents that children should be constantly supervised around water and that all pools should be properly secured to help prevent tragedies like this.