4-yr-old boy nearly drowns on Tucson’s SW side

A four-year-old boy nearly drowned in a backyard swimming pool on Tucson’s southwest side Sunday evening.

Initial reports were that the boy was in an inflatable inner tube and slipped under the water and was found at the bottom of the pool at the home in the 6700 block of South Villa Molina de Viento, said Tracy Koslowski, a spokeswoman for Drexel Heights Fire District.

The boy was taken to the hospital, but his current condition is unknown, she said.

Koslowski says it’s important to remember that pool toys are not meant to be life-saving devices.

“Inflatable water wings and inner tubes are not a good layer of protection for young kids that are not strong swimmers,” she said. “A life jacket definitely would have made a difference with this child.”