ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A 6-year-old who was airlifted to a hospital on Saturday after a near-drowning in a St. Augustine community pool was given CPR by an off-duty nurse on scene, according to the incident report obtained by News4JAX.
The incident report states that the nurse, who was at the community pool on Silver Forest Drive, performed CPR on the child and applied an automated external defibrillator (AED) that was provided by employees.
Around 7:22 p.m., St. Johns County deputies were dispatched to the SilverLeaf Amenity Center after receiving a report of a child drowning in the community pool.
According to the report, the 6-year-old began spitting out water during CPR, and his father was “present and distraught.”
The report states that the child was in the swimming pool with approximately five other children and was briefly left alone before he was found floating.
It is unclear from the report how long the child was underwater. Some of the report is redacted.
Rescue 17 “called cardiac arrest” and requested that the child be airlifted to Wolfson Children’s Hospital, according to the report.
According to the report, first responders were able to get a pulse before they left the scene.
The report also says the two employees who provided the AED told deputies they were sitting in the office when someone banged on the window and told them the was an unresponsive child.
“It was tragic to hear about the near-drowning,” Fawnda Hill, parent and former lifeguard, said.
News4JAX spoke with SilverLeaf Amenity Center officials, who said the near-drowning happened under the underbridge, which is an area that is not overseen by a lifeguard.
Katy Murphy, co-owner of Golf Fish Swim School, said it is very important to make sure children and parents leave the house ready for the water.
“Get swim lessons. Wear a life jacket. Have a person always watching out. Put the child in a bright-colored suit so everybody’s going to see that little one and know where they’re at,” Murphy said.
The names of those involved were not released.
The investigation is ongoing.
