Drowning in Westwood Pool Near Frontenac

A three year old child, Rashaun Hackney of Bel-Nor drowed in a backyard pool at 111 Tamaron Pl. in the Village of Westwood, according to the St, Louis Post-Dispatch Newspaper. The drowning occurred last Sunday about 6 p.m. Tamaron Place is off Highway 40 outer drive near Spoede Road.

First responder paramedics from Frontenac performed CPR and the child was transported to St. John's Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur but could not be revived. "Our guys did the very best we could. Actually, guests at the party started CPR and we took over," said Police Chief Tom Becker of Frontenac. "We actually got there before Creve Coeur got there."

There were problems finding the location because the first calls to 911 were made by cell phones. Only hard-wired land line phones give location of calls to the 911 call centers. Guests making the first emergency calls by cell phone didn't know the street location of the home involved.

Hackney fell into the pool at the home of Jai and Sumati Rao who were out of town at the time of the incident. Pratima Deshpande, 35, daughter of the Rao's was hosting a Fathers Day party for several couples and their children from her work.

The child had been wearing water wings prior to the drowning. He rested on a lounge chair, took off the wings and entered the pool without them a second time according to Chief Becker.

On May 22, 2009, a second grader drowned at a graduation party in the 1100 block of Oakleigh Lane in Ladue. On June 6, 2011, a youngster was revived from the swimming pool on the first day of summer camp at John Burroughs Burr Oak Camp in Ladue.

Playing it Safe

The Council on Swim Pool Safety has a host of advice regarding safety tips.

The CPSC recommends that residential pool and spa owners adopt water safety steps to prevent children from accessing the water when there is no adult supervision, and they are appropriately protected when an adult is available to supervise.

By asking and answering these critical questions, you can gauge the effectiveness of your water safety measures, and determine what steps need to be taken to protect children from drowning and submersion injuries:

• Is there a fence around the perimeter of your pool or spa?
• Are there self-closing and self-latching gates?
• Are there door, gate or pool alarms in use?
• Does your pool have anti-entrapment drain covers that are compliant with the P&SS Act?
• Are all pool and spa covers in working order?
• Has the public pool or spa you use been inspected to ensure it is compliant with federal, state and local laws?
• Has someone in the family received training in CPR, first aid and emergency response?
• Has everyone learned to swim?