Police say a 6-month-old Phoenix boy left alone in a bathtub remains in critical condition Thursday night.
Itwas earlier reported that the child had died, but at 8 p.m. PhoenixPolice Sgt. Tommy Thompson said the child was still alive.
PhoenixFire Department spokesman Jonathan Jacobs said the infant was leftin the bathtub with the water running for up to five minutes while hismother left the room to check her e-mail.
Thompson said thechild likes to play in the water with the drain open, but somehow thedrain stopper apparently activated and the tub filled with water. Hesaid the child was found under water.
When the boy’s mother returned she reportedly grabbed her son and ran outside crying “my baby drowned.”
Jacobs said there were two workers doing renovations nearby and one of them performed CPR on the child.
“Shewas shaking and screaming,” said Jose Salgado, the worker who assistedthe boy. “I said, ‘Give me the baby.’ I’m still shaking. You don’t getused to a baby drowning.”
The child was not breathing whenfirefighters arrived at the apartment complex near 7th Street andGreenway Parkway around 1:30 p.m.
The boy was transported to Phoenix Children’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Connie Treni, who lives downstairs from the family, said the boy always appeared to be well cared for.
“Very cute, happy little baby,” she said. “He never appeared to be neglected.”
Jacobs said the incident was a preventable tragedy.
“Anythingcan look really simple from the outside,” he said. “They are horribleaccidents that are unforgiving and where you don’t have a lot of time.”
It is unclear if the woman will faces charges.
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