23-Month-Old Girl In Critical Condition After Nearly Drowning In Family's Pool At Newtown Township Home
NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) -- A 23-month-old girl is in critical condition after nearly drowning in her family's backyard pool on Wednesday morning. The family dog alerted the child's mother that something was terribly wrong.
Newtown Township police say the incident happened at a residence on the 800 block of Ellis Avenue, around 10 a.m.
Police say the child was playing on the living room floor when the girl's mother left her unattended briefly while she went upstairs to change clothing.
When the family dog started to bark excitedly, the woman came back downstairs and noticed her daughter missing. Police say she found her child a few moments later "floating lifelessly in the pool."
"When she came downstairs, she couldn't find the child. She started looking around frantically for the child and found the child floating in the swimming pool," Newtown Township Police Lt. Michael Savitski said.
Police say it appears the toddler opened a flimsy screen door which separates the living room from the outside pool area when her mother was upstairs.
She immediately pulled her out of the pool and called 911.
When officers arrived, they immediately began CPR to resuscitate the young girl. She was taken to Bryn Mawr Hospital where they were able to revive her and restore the child's heart rate.
She has since been transferred to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Police are continuing to investigate the incident.
