Unresponsive Tot in Pool Prompts Calls for Pool Safety

A 2-year-old boy was found unresponsive in a North Haven swimming pool on July 7, and although the victim survived, it was the latest in a string of recent drownings on Long Island.

The child, found floating unconscious, was given CPR, transported to Southampton Hospital and transferred to Stony Brook Hospital, where he remained the following day, according to Southampton Town Police. The case was one of four  drownings in Suffolk County over the Fourth of July weekend, prompting officials to urge caution.

“Please take some time this season to learn about pool safety,” said Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine. “It could mean the difference between life and death.”

In one of the other two incidents, an unresponsive toddler was pulled from a pool in Deer Park and survived, also on July 7. That came after a 29-year-old Kenneth Murray of Brooklyn was pronounced dead in Wyandanch on July 5 after being found unresponsive in a pool. And on July 4, 79-year-old John Vormbaum fatally drowned in the pool at his East Northport home.

Romaine reminded the public that drowning is the top cause of accidental deaths among children ages 1 to 4, according to Stop Drowning Now.

The American Red Cross shared additional preventative measures to shield against child drownings. The group recommends staying within arm’s reach of younger children, installing a barrier to prevent swimming pool entry, and enforcing safety standards such as swimming with a buddy, only diving where appropriate, not running around the pool and swimming sober.