15-Year-Old Drowns at Pool Party

An investigation was underway today into the death of a 15-year-old boy who drowned during a pool party at a Garden Grove home.

It was the 30th drowning death in Orange County so far this year, and comes on a two-day period when three people drowned and two others were hauled out of pools not breathing.

The accident was at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday in the 11500 block of Desmond Street, said Paramedics were called to the about 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Garden Grove police Lt. Ben Stauffer said.

At some point during the party, the teen could not be found, Stauffer said.

“Friends began to check the backyard and found the victim at the bottom of the pool,” he said.

A 17-year-old girl who was also attending the party pulled the boy from the pool, Stauffer said.

“He was pulled out in cardiac arrest,” Garden Grove Fire Department Capt. Thanh Nguyen said.

Paramedics arrived and began treating the boy before taking him to Garden Grove Hospital where he was pronounced dead, the captain said.

The drowning is under investigation by Garden Grove police and the Orange County coroner’s office, according to Stauffer.

“We’re pretty curious about it because there were a lot of people there,” said Nguyen.

The boy’s name was withheld pending family notifications.

It was at least the fifth drowning call and third fatality for emergency crews in Orange County this weekend.

Earlier Saturday night, a 3-year-old girl was hospitalized after being pulled from the bottom of a spa at an Irvine town home complex, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said.

The girl’s father was barbecuing by the community pool in the 3300 block of Esperanza about 6:30 p.m. when his daughter somehow got into the spa, the captain said.

The girl didn’t know how to swim and was found at the bottom of the spa by a bystander who pulled her out, Concialdi said, adding that the girl was not breathing.

There were two fatalities Friday. Tac Greene, 53, of Irvine drowned in a condo complex pool in Irvine and 57-year-old Suzanne Fisher of Fountain Valley drowned in a swimming pool at a Vagabond Inn at 3205 Harbor Blvd. in Costa Mesa.

Also on Friday, bystanders rescued a 2-year-old boy who was found under water in the pool of a Red Roof Inn in Santa Ana, Concialdi said. The boy was in serious condition when he was rushed to a hospital, Concialdi said.

Altogether there have been 68 drowning and near-drowning calls since Jan. 1, he said. Of the 38 survivors, some have brain damage and other irreparable injuries.

--City News Service

PHOTO Patch file photol