Police are investigating the drowning of a toddler at a southwest Miami-Dade home Sunday night.
The incident happened just before 6:30 p.m. at the home at the corner of Southwest 86th Avenue and Southwest 72nd Terrace, Miami-Dade Police said.
Police said the 2-year-old girl was in the pool with family members when she was seen submerged under water. She was pulled from the water and CPR was administered, but by the time she was rushed to a nearby hospital, it was too late.
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"I heard screams of horror. That [put] me over the edge because that's something that you'll never forget," said neighbor JC Mena.
Neighbors said the family, which has two other children, were having a small gathering when the girl was discovered in the pool.
"They had some music and some laughter, friends getting together on a Sunday afternoon common in Miami, good weather," said neighbor Leopoldo Nunez.
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Exactly how the tragedy happened is under investigation. Miami-Dade Police say she was being supervised and there were adults in the pool at the time.
"It's unknown how long she was in the water but there was family inside the pool with her," Miami-Dade Police spokeswoman Robin Pinkard said.
"His daughters are always in the pool, we're always playing with them. That guy is awesome," said Mena, about the child's father. The neighbor described the man as a good dad, who could often be seen spending time with the children.
Nunez said the young family has had many reasons to celebrate recently.
"They had two daughters and recently about a year or so ago, they had a young boy. Everyone was excited. They threw a party and invited us over," Nunez said.
Police said the tragedy serves as a reminder to South Florida parents to protect their children.
"We want the community to be aware that this is South Florida and there is water everywhere, the earlier you can get your children swimming lessons to prevent things like this from happening [the better]. We encourage swimming lessons at a young age," Pinkard said.
"I'm super sorry that something like this would happen, very tragic. It happens a lot in Miami, it shouldn't happen in Miami," said Nunez.
Police believe it was an accident. They were speaking with the parents at the hospital late Sunday but no charges were expected.
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