GILBERT, AZ — Three children were pulled from pools around the Valley on Sunday evening, leaving a 2-year-old boy dead and two others taken to the hospital.
Gilbert
The first drowning call came out of Gilbert, where police say they were called to the home near Higley and Elliot roads just after 5:30 p.m.
When officers arrived, they began lifesaving efforts on a 2-year-old boy before he was taken to the hospital. Authorities originally reported that the child was a 1-year-old, but have since updated their information to say he was a 2-year-old.
He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
It's not clear how long the boy was in the pool and police are investigating what led up to the drowning.
Goodyear
Around 7:30 p.m., Goodyear police say they were called to a home near Estrella Parkway and Van Buren Street for a possible child drowning.
First responders arrived and found family members performing CPR on the child.
The child, whose age is not known, was reportedly breathing and taken to a hospital for precautionary treatment.
Queen Creek
Then, just before 9 p.m., Queen Creek first responders were called to a home near Ellsworth and Germann roads for a possible drowning.
They arrived to find the child breathing on their own after having CPR performed on them.
The child was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
SWIM SAFETY TIPS
Jay Arthur with the President of the Drowning Prevention Coalition said the back-to-back calls caught even advocates off guard.
"It's very tragic. Having three incidents happen in a row like that kind of blindsided us," Arthur said.
Arthur said in most cases involving young children, the danger begins before they ever reach the water.
"Seventy percent of the drownings... the kids aren't in the water to begin with. They make it from the inside to the outside," Arthur said.
Caitlin Sageng, vice president of program operations at Child Crisis Arizona, said the best defense is layered.
"A is adult supervision. B is barriers. C is classes," Sageng said.
At SafeSplash Swim School in Gilbert, owner Parvathy Hariharan said those classes can be life-saving, because drowning remains the leading cause of death in children under 5.
"It's really, really important to be water safe because drowning is the number one reason for death in kids under five years of age. It's a really sad statistic because it is completely preventable," Hariharan said.
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