By Sarah Burge
The Press Enterprise
MURRIETA, Calif. — A toddler died Tuesday, June 4, a few days after he was found floating in a backyard hot tub in Murrieta, and a 2-year-old girl was in critical condition in a near-drowning incident in Temecula, authorities said.
Zachary Gordon Nahsohn, of Murrieta, identified on a Facebook page created in support of his family, would have turned 3 in July.
According to Murrieta police, Zachary had been playing in a hot tub with other children during a party Saturday at the family’s home on Salvia Lane.
An adult noticed the boy floating in the water, unconscious, about 3:30 p.m., Lt. Rob Firmes said in a written statement. The boy’s uncle pulled him from the water and performed CPR, according to a Facebook post from his mother.
Zachary was taken by helicopter to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital in Loma Linda, where he later died, police said.
While he was still in the hospital, Zachary’s mother, asking friends for their prayers on the Facebook page, wrote that he loved trains and the color yellow. She said he was looking forward to a yellow-themed birthday party. The page was filled with photos of the blond-haired boy, one showing him proudly holding up his “first fish,” still on the hook.
At the Nahsohn home and several others in their neighborhood Tuesday, yellow balloons were on display in Zachary’s memory.
Police said there were no signs of criminal negligence and the case has been deemed accidental.
Meanwhile Tuesday, a Temecula toddler was still in critical condition a day after she was found in a backyard pool at a home in the 44800 block of Fern Circle, sheriff’s and fire officials said.
The accident was reported 8:15 p.m. A deputy who responded began performing CPR. Cal Fire/Riverside County fire officials said the child was in full cardiac arrest but regained a pulse in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Lt. Michael Maddux, of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, said the girl was found in the pool after a parent lost sight of her.
According to Riverside County Injury Prevention Services, drowning is the leading cause of accidental injury-related deaths to children ages 1 to 4 in Riverside County, and 86 percent of drowning and near-drowning incidents happen in backyard pools or spas.
Injury-prevention officials remind parents that drowning is a quiet event and often is not preceded by splashing or screaming. Likewise, a child can drown in less than an inch of water, can lose consciousness in 30 seconds or less, and can have irreversible brain damage after four to six minutes.
Many California backyard pools lack safety features because they were built before the Swimming Pool Safety Act of 1998, the Injury Prevention Services website says.
According to statistics compiled by the agency, nine children — all younger than 6 — drowned in 2012 in Riverside County. Another 43 children were involved in near-drowning incidents. In 2011, five children died and 36 children were involved in near-drowning incidents.
As of May 7 this year, according to injury-prevention officials, three children under the age of 6 had been involved in near-drowning incidents.
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