WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, June 6, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — A 4-year-old girl was rushed to the hospital in critical condition Tuesday after she was pulled, unconscious, from an apartment complex swimming pool near 2100 West and 3100 South.
West Valley City Police Lt. Steve Burke said officers were called at 6:52 p.m. to what was initially reported as a drowning.
Upon arrival at Apartments at Decker Lake, 2184 W. 3100 South, emergency personnel learned that the little girl had been seen falling into the deep water by an older child. That child alerted her own father, who has been identified as Carlos Hernandez.
Hernandez, a resident of the apartment complex, was at the pool with his own children. He jumped in, located the 4-year-old at the bottom of the pool, carried her out of the water, and started chest compressions.
Burke said when officers arrived, the 4-year-old had “thrown up the water.”
“An officer scooped her up and she was taken to Jordan Valley West and then by helicopter to Primary Children’s (Hospital in Salt Lake City),” Burke said.
The girl had been in the water for about a minute, Hernandez told the officers.
Apparently, the little girl’s mother knew she was playing outside with other children, but wasn’t aware that the girl had made her way into the pool area.
Swimming pools are extremely attractive to youngsters, especially with the hot weather Utah is experiencing. Outings at lakes and along river trails are also popular with families and groups of young people.
Lt. Burke said it’s important to remind everyone it only takes mere seconds for a child to fall into the water, and we all need to remember to “watch the kids.”
