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New details released about infant's drowning death in Phoenix bathtub
Phoenix investigators say the mother's boyfriend had been in charge of watching the children when the baby drowned.
PHOENIX - Phoenix Police say a 1-year-old girl has died following a drowning incident on Oct. 18.
Officers responded to an apartment near 27th and Glenrosa Avenues at around 3:30 p.m. and found an unresponsive toddler. She was rushed to a hospital where she later died.
Investigators say the boyfriend of the child's mother was caring for her and her three other siblings when he stepped away from the victim while she was in the bathtub and left one of her siblings to care for her.
"The man was later alerted by one of the children that something was wrong with the victim," Sgt. Philip Krynsky said in a news release. "The man found the victim unresponsive in the bathtub, pulled her out, and called 911."
Fire crews, according to the statement, were sent to the scene for reports of a child found in the bathtub. The child was pulled from the water by a family member, and CPR was performed on the child prior to the fire crew's arrival.
Police say the investigation remains ongoing until the medical examiner determines the child's official cause of death.
Neighbors react to tragic drowning
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Phoenix infant drowns in home bathtub; investigation underway
This, of course, is a tragedy for the family and those in the apartment complex where it happened.
"It's sad, but that’s all I can say, really," a neighbor said. "I can’t speak on it because I don’t know them. My blessings go out to them and God bless them."
It takes about an inch of water for someone to drown, and it only takes a few minutes to leave a child alone in the water for something like this to happen.
Capt. Evan Gammage with the Phoenix Fire Department says Arizona has one of the highest statistics of drownings in the nation, and incidents like these serve as a stark reminder.
"It takes very little water. This is an unfortunate reminder that it doesn’t take a pool for a drowning to occur. Accidents happen, unfortunately. It can happen in a bathtub, in a bucket of water, and, or even a toilet," he said.
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