The Department of Children and Families ruled a 5-year-old’s death accidental after the child drowned Monday night.
The father was in his front yard in the 2000 block of North 53rd St. around 6:17 p.m. cleaning up debris after Hurricane Irma when he noticed he hadn’t seen the child for a few minutes, according to a report. The mother was not home at the time.
He walked to the backyard and found the boy in the pool face down and unconscious.
When St. Lucie County deputies arrived, CPR was in progress in an effort to save the boy.
The child was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The boy did not know how to swim and nor was there a fence or barrier surrounding the pool.
It is heartbreaking to see a family lose a child and we are all devastated for this family. DCF has an open child protective investigation and we will continue to support this family as they grieve the loss of their child.
-David Frady, Ph.D., press secretary for the Florida Department of Children & Families.