An unsupervised 5-year-old boy drowned in a Santa Monica resident’s backyard swimming pool Wednesday.
Santa Monica Police officers responded at 2 p.m. to a home at 334 20th St. when the boy’s mother found the child submerged at the bottom of the pool.
According to police, the mother worked at the home as a housekeeper and did not notice that the boy had gone into the pool.
The responding officers initiated CPR until paramedics arrived. The boy was transported to the UCLA-Santa Monica Hospital where he was pronounced dead by an attending physician, police said.
Police believe the drowning was accidental but an investigation is on-going, said SMPD Lt. P.J. Guido.
Neighbors of the home wouldn’t comment on the drowning. None of them said they heard anything until police and paramedics arrived.
“It’s a real tragedy,” said one neighbor who did not give his name. “It’s a shame, a real shame it happened.”
The owners of the yellow-stucco residence were not at home much of the day and did not return phone calls left by the Daily Press.
One woman stopped by the home about noon Thursday to leave a dozen bright pink and orange flowers at the door.
In the backyard, toys and floatation devices were scattered around the edge of the kidney-shaped pool. And by late afternoon, water was being pumped out of it and into the street.
City officials quickly showed up and went into the backyard to shut-off the water pump by the pool. Only about two feet of water had been drained before officials shut it off.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 28, 2002. Read the original PDF.