A 1-year-old boy is in critical condition after nearly drowning in his family’s pool Monday.
A neighbor pulled the boy from the family’s pool at 16930 SW Fifth St. after hearing his mother scream for help shortly after 6 p.m., the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.
According to the BSO, the boy and his 7-year-old sister were playing in their mother’s bedroom when he wandered outside, undetected by his mother, who was in the dining room at the time. The boy’s sister found him at the bottom of the pool and told her mother, who dialed 911.
Neighbor Suzanne Pulice heard the mother’s screams and jumped the wooden fence bordering their properties to save the child. She attempted CPR until paramedics arrived.
According to the BSO, the family apparently had a pool fence that was taken down for a weekend party and wasn’t replaced.
The boy was taken to Cleveland Clinic and later airlifted to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. Rescuers said he was breathing on his own as he was being transported from the scene.