LINDENHURST, NY — A 3-year-old Long Island girl is in critical condition after being found unresponsive in a backyard swimming pool Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Suffolk County First Precinct officers responded to a home on North Broadway in Lindenhurst after a 911 call reporting that a child was unresponsive in the home’s swimming pool at 3:15 pm
Avery Wilcox, 3, a resident of the home, was taken via ambulance to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center where she was in critical condition, police said.
Detectives are asking anyone with information on the incident to call the First Squad at 631-854-8152.
Children ages 1 to 4 are the most at risk for drowning, and deaths most often occur at home swimming pools, data shows. Drowning kills more children ages 1 to 4 than any other cause except congenital anomalies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
The CDC offers these drowning prevention tips for children/parents:
Supervise—A responsible adult should watch children while they are playing in or around water. For preschool-age children, supervisors should be close enough to reach the child at all times. Adults should not be involved in any other distracting activity—like reading, playing cards, talking, or mowing the lawn—while supervising children, even if lifeguards are present.
Swimming Skills— formal swimming lessons help reduce the risk of drowning among children ages 1 to 4.
Learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation— CPR performed by bystanders saves lives and improves outcomes in drowning victims. The sooner CPR is started, the better chance the victim has of an improved outcome.
Secure The Area— For those with swimming pools at home, they should install a four-sided pool fence at least 4 feet high that completely separates the pool from the house and yard. There should be self-closing and self-latching gates that open outward with latches out of reach of children.
Additional barriers are encouraged, such as automatic door locks and alarms to prevent access and to alert adults if someone enters the pool area. Pool owners should also clear the pool and deck of toys after use so children are not tempted to enter the pool area unsupervised.
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