PLANTATION, FLA. (WSVN) – A 2-year-old boy drowned after he wandered into a lake in Plantation, police said, becoming the fourth child in South Florida to die by drowning in the past three weeks.<\/p>\n
Plantation Police officers responded to a report of a missing 2-year-old along the 1600 block of Northwest 108th Avenue, just after 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.<\/p>\n
While officers were heading to this location, investigators said, a family member found the toddler unresponsive in the lake klocated behind the home, removed him from the water and immediately began administering CPR.<\/p>\n
Officers arrived shortly and took over lifesaving measures until paramedics with Plantation Fire Rescue arrived at the scene.<\/p>\n
The child was rushed to Broward Health Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. <\/p>\n
The boy\u2019s death comes after officials in Florida released critical safety statistics that show drowning rates all across the state are rising.<\/p>\n
According to the Safe Children Coalition. Florida\u2019s drowning death rate is already the highest in the nation for children under 5.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, this year we are paced to surpass last year\u2019s deadliest year on record,\u201d said Malvina Duncan, Injury Prevention Coordinator\u00a0at Nicklaus Children\u2019s Hospital. \u201cA hundred and twenty children died due to drownings last year. This year we\u2019re already at 62.\u201d<\/p>\n
The highest number of drownings occurred during the spring and summer seasons in Florida, but they can happen anytime and only take a second. <\/p>\n
Officials nevertheless stress that these tragedies are preventable. That was the lesson shared by swim safety organizers<\/a> at the Boys & Girls Club of Broward County in North Lauderdale on Thursday.<\/p>\n Cassie McGovern, who lost her 1-year-old daughter in 2009, pushed past her grief to become a drowning prevention advocate.<\/p>\n \u201cStanding beside my daughter\u2019s hospital bed, I made her a promise: I would do everything in my power to raise awareness and help other families never experience the same heartache that our family is experiencing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Now McGovern is the executive director of Every Child a Swimmer, an organization dedicated to getting children swim lessons for low to no cost. Children are also taught how to respond to an emergency.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople often think that drowning is something that happens to someone else, but the truth is, it can happen to anyone anywhere. It is fast, it is silent, and the impact is far beyond the child,\u201d said McGovern.<\/p>\n Water is not a parent\u2019s only worry this summer.<\/p>\n \u201cSo far, in 2026, we\u2019ve seen four hot car deaths in Florida, and we\u2019ve seen two of those here in Broward County in the last two weeks,\u201d said a spokesperson with Joe DiMaggio Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n This past Sunday, 2-year-old Brittany was inside a Honda Odyssey in Hallandale Beach for three hours.<\/p>\n \u201cNot even a minute should a child be left alone in a car,\u201d said the spokesperson with Joe DiMaggio Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n Britanny\u2019s mother, Cristina L\u00f3pez Ram\u00edrez, said the toddler\u2019s babysitter sent her own father to pick up the 2-year-old for the day, The grieving mother told 7News she didn\u2019t know that was happening, and when they arrived home, the babysitter\u2019s father never took the baby out of the minivan<\/a>.<\/p>\n