A toddler is dead and another child is clinging to life after one drowned and another nearly drowned in Miami Gardens. The incidents happened just minutes and blocks apart from one another Tuesday evening.
Toys could be seen outside the home on 189th Terrace, evidence that a small child lives there. Behind the Miami Gardens home is the family swimming pool, which nearly became the watery demise of a 2-year-old.
The young girl escaped her distracted parents' supervision and was later found unresponsive.
12 minutes later, and just blocks away on 188th Street, a 14-month-old was found at the bottom of the pool.
"Again, it was a distraction where the child fell in the pool. The 14-year-old jumped in, the sibling jumped in, got the child out," said Major Ralph Suarez with Miami Gardens Police.
911 was immediately called, where dispatchers walked family members through CPR.
"One of our officers at that time arrived at the scene right before fire rescue arrived and started giving CPR and compressions," Suarez explained.
Local
The 14-month-old was rushed to Jackson North where he died. It appears the father fell asleep and the mother was distracted by their other children, and the little boy found the pool.
Coincidentally, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue teamed up with the YMCA in Miami Lakes and put on a CPR demonstration Wednesday, in case of these types of tragic accidents. It's a necessity, especially in South Florida.
"Florida and Miami-Dade County lead the nation in drownings ages 1-4," Suarez said.
The most important tip fire rescue can stress is prevention: gates around pools, alarms, supervision and getting certified in CPR, as a precaution.
In both of Tuesday's cases, CPR was performed. For the little boy, he was down too long. However, it may have saved the 2-year-old girl.
