Boy, 2, drowns in backyard pool at Nanuet home during sweltering heat Sunday

Matt Spillane, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
·2 min read

CLARKSTOWN – Tragedy struck Nanuet on Sunday when a 2-year-old boy drowned at his home as sweltering heat scorched the region.

Clarkstown police said they responded to the house on Tennyson Drive around 8:05 p.m. after temperatures touched 90 degrees in the area. Family members pulled the boy out of the above-ground pool in the backyard, where he was unresponsive, and started to perform CPR, police said.

Officers used an AED to try to save the boy as Rockland Paramedics and Nanuet EMS arrived, police said. The boy was taken to Montefiore Nyack Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Detectives are investigating the circumstances that led to the boy's death.

A majority of pool injuries in New York involve children younger than 3, according to the New York State Department of State, and the state Office of Children and Family Services said about 33 children die from drownings each year.

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Ahead of Memorial Day weekend, as many people open their pools with summer on the horizon, here are some tips for pool and swimming safety from the Office of Children and Family Services:

  • Never leave a child unattended in a pool or spa and always watch children closely around all bodies of water.

  • Designate a “water watcher” to supervise children in the pool or spa. This person should not be reading, texting, using a smartphone or otherwise distracted. Adults can take turns being the water watcher.

  • Keep children away from pool drains, pipes and other openings to avoid entrapments.

  • Have a telephone close by when you or your family are using a pool or spa.

  • Have lifesaving equipment such as life rings, floats or a reaching pole available and easily accessible.

  • If a child is missing, look for him or her in the pool or spa first.

  • Share safety instructions with family, friends and neighbors.

  • Learn how to swim and teach your child how to swim.

  • Teach children basic water safety rules and make sure they are followed.

  • Understand the basics of life-saving and CPR so that you can assist in a pool emergency.

  • Install a 4-foot or taller fence around the perimeter of the pool and spa and use self-closing and self-latching gates; ask your neighbors to do the same at their pools.

  • Install and use a lockable safety cover on your spa.

  • If your house serves as a fourth side of a fence around a pool, install and use a door or pool alarm. New York state has standards for pool alarms and fences.

  • Maintain pool and spa covers in good working order.

  • Ensure any pool and spa you use has drain covers that comply with federal standards, and, if you do not know, ask your pool service provider whether your covers are in compliance.

  • For more pool safety advice, visit the state Department of Health website at health.ny.gov.

Matt Spillane covers breaking news throughout the Hudson Valley. Click here for his latest stories. Follow him on Twitter @MattSpillane. Check out our latest subscription offers here.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Clarkstown police say boy drowned in backyard pool on Tennyson Drive