WESTON, Fla. (WSVN) – A teenage boy and a 74-year-old man were transported to Broward County hospitals after, officials said, they pulled unresponsive from backyard swimming pools within minutes of each other, Sunday afternoon.
According to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, the younger victim, 13, was not breathing when he was pulled from the pool at a home on the 5200 block of Southwest 90th Terrace in Cooper City, just before 2:15 p.m. “He was not responsive, he was not breathing, did not have a pulse,” said Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesperson Mike Jachles.
Officials said two bystanders was able to resuscitate the teen. “There was an adult there that immediately began CPR. Somebody else assisted,” said Jachles. “When Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue crews arrived on the scene, our firefighter paramedics had determined that the child was breathing.”
Paramedics transported him to Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines in good condition. Officials said he was conscious and alert.
Just over a half hour later, crews responded to the scene of another near drowning several miles away, at a home near Cameron Drive and Lake Boulevard, in a gated Weston neighborhood, just after 2:45 p.m.
Officials said this was a very close call, and their emergency personnel did all they could to revive him. “He’d been pulled from the pool. He was not responsive, did not have a pulse, and thus was not breathing,” said Jachles. “Our firefighter paramedics quickly initiated advanced life support. That includes using a device called an AutoPulse, which performs automatic chest compressions.”
Jachles said crews were able to restore a pulse on the second victim “within about a minute or two.” He was rushed to Cleveland Clinic Florida in critical condition.
The adult victim’s wife told 7News she had gone inside their home to grab a towel while her husband exercised in the pool. A few minutes later, she said, she came back outside and found him floating face down.
It is unclear how long the older man, who has Parkinson’s disease, was underwater. Officials have not released the victims’ identities.
The older victim’s wife said her husband remains at Cleveland Clinic’s intensive care unit. She said she is thankful to the BSO deputies who first responded to her 911 call for their quick response and for giving her husband a second chance.
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