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| According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, drowning is a leading cause of injury death for young children ages 1 to 4. Photo credit: CDC |
TITUSVILLE, Florida – A drowning toddler is alive thanks to an 18-year-old Good Samaritan who performed CPR on the child in Titusville, Florida.
On Friday, June 3, Titusville police responded to a report of a toddler being pulled out of the water and not breathing at the community pool located at 628 Timber Trace Lane at 12:30 p.m.
According to police, the 3-year-old was in the pool, struggled to stay above water, and subsequently went completely underwater.
Surveillance footage provided by the apartment complex to police showed that approximately two minutes had elapsed before the victim’s 7-year-old cousin noticed the submerged toddler and pulled the child out of the pool. Breanna Moseley, 18, of Titusville, who was poolside and did not know the toddler, began CPR on the child, who was lifeless and not breathing.
Titusville Police arrived on scene within minutes and found the victim had been resuscitated by Mosely and was breathing without assistance. The victim was airlifted to a local hospital as a precautionary measure.
The Department of Children and Families was notified because the toddler was at the pool without adult supervision.
Florida loses more children under age five to drowning than any other state, according to the Florida Department of Health. Annually in Florida, enough children to fill three to four preschool classrooms drown and do not live to see their fifth birthday.
According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, drowning is a leading cause of injury death for young children ages 1 to 4. For toddlers (children ages 1 to 4 years), swimming pools pose the greatest risk of submersion injury.
In 2013, Florida had the highest unintentional drowning rate in the nation for the 1–4 year old age group with a drowning rate of 7.54 per 100,000 population. Brevard County has nearly twice the statewide rate of unintentional drownings.
The CDC notes that CPR performed by bystanders like Moseley has been shown to improve outcomes in drowning victims. For example, starting CPR immediately, rather than waiting for emergency personnel, can help reduce the chance of brain damage.
