Children's Safety Zone

PHOENIX, AZ – A 10-month-old little girl is fighting for her life after investigators say she was found unconscious in a bathtub at her family’s home in the west Valley.

A spokesperson for the Phoenix Fire Department tells ABC15 the girl’s mother turned on the water in the tub to give her daughter and two-year-old son a bath.

Investigators say for reasons that remain unclear, the mother left her children unattended.

While she was away, firefighters claim her son put the stopper in causing the tub to begin filling with water.

“We can’t blame anybody, accidents happen,” said neighbor Christina Torres. “It’s sad to know. I can’t even talk, I’m still in shock over everything that’s happened.”

Investigators say the mother returned to the tub to find her daughter submerged in water.

Torres says the girl’s mom ran outside with her daughter looking for someone to help.

“She wanted somebody who knew how to do CPR,” said Torres. “She knew her child needed CPR and she didn’t know how to do it.”

Torres called 911 while another neighbor performed CPR.

Paramedics rushed the girl to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Her condition is unknown.

“She didn’t look good, not at all,” said Torres.

MESA, Ariz. – A little boy who was pulled from a pool during a birthday party is expected to survive.

It happened Monday at a home near Lindsay and Brown in Mesa.

Mesa Fire Capt. Forrest Smith says the boy was visiting a house for a birthday party. He somehow figured out how to get into the pool and an adult found him underwater.

The adult administered CPR and was able to get the child breathing again.

The boy was taken to Cardon Children’s Hospital and is expected to recover.

The teen boy pulled unconscious out of the Colorado River after floating downstream underwater for about 100 yards has been identified.

Junior de Jesus Salamanca, 17, is currently listed in critical condition at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

The near-drowning occurred at about 4:45 p.m. Wednesday when two of Salamanca’s younger siblings became distressed while swimming beneath the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge, the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Salamanca, who was swimming nearby, tried to rescue his young brother and sister, who were between the ages of 3 and 5.

He was able to reach the children, but as he was returning with them to the shore, he fell into a deep drop off at the north side of the Colorado River beneath the railroad bridge and disappeared under the surface. At that time, he lost his grip on the two children.

Mike Colberg had been swimming in the area and had stopped for a moment near the large rocks underneath the railroad bridge nearby when he became aware of the two children and swam to their rescue.

He was able to grab the young boy and bring him into a nearby cove. With the aid of a second man, both the boy and girl were taken to the opposite shore. Both children were uninjured.

Colberg had been unaware of Salamanca, who continued to float downstream at least 100 yards just beneath the surface.

Salamanca’s father began shouting for help to find his son. Two people standing on the southern shore beneath the Interstate 8 bridge spotted the teen beneath the water a short time later. They brought him ashore and began CPR while someone called 911.

Paramedics responded to the scene, where they began trying to revive the teen as he lay in the sand on the riverbank. They placed him in a gurney and continued chest compressions as they loaded him into the back of a Yuma Fire Department ambulance. He was then transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center before being flown by helicopter to Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

The incident has prompted YCSO to warn Yuma area residents about the dangers associated with swimming in natural waterways.

“River flows and depth can change on a day-to-day basis so don’t assume just because you were there one day that it will be the same the next,” said Lt. Darren Simmons.

“Watch small children closely and make sure they are wearing approved safety flotation devices.”

TUCSON – A 10-month old girl is in critical condition after nearly drowning in a bathtub this afternoon – the woman who was watching her has been charged with Child Abuse.

Tucson Fire and Tucson Police responded to an apartment in the 3600 block of north Campbell Avenue at about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday afternoon after a 10-month old girl was found unconscious and not breathing in a bathtub full of water. TFD personnel immediately performed CPR and rushed the child to a local hospital.

The child remains in critical condition in the hospital.

Upon investigation, detectives from TPD’s Dependent Child Unit learned that 27-year-old Zada Davis was caring for the baby, as well as her 7-year-old child, and another 8-month old baby.

Davis put the baby in the bathtub sometime between 2 p.m, and 2:30 p.m., leaving the water running with toys in the tub, TPD officials state. She then began doing other things around the house, leaving the child alone in the bathroom. After about 10 minutes, Davis returned and found the bathtub overflowing, with the child floating in the water.

Davis pulled the baby out of the tub and called 911, and a neighbor performed CPR until Tucson Fire personnel arrived. The other children in the house were not involved in the incident.

As a result of the investigation, Davis was arrested and charged with one count of felony Child Abuse and booked into Pima County Jail.

GILBERT, AZ – A 5-year-old New Mexico boy has died after being pulled from a community pool in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert.

Gilbert Fire spokesman Brian Ruffentine said the child was found in the main pool at the Val Vista Lakes Clubhouse near Baseline and Val Vista roads.

Gilbert police said Sunday that 5-year-old Clayden Hammond was with his older brother and grandmother at the pool when he was found unconscious Saturday.

Ruffentine said it was unknown how long the boy had been in the water.

Adults at the scene started CPR before firefighters arrived.

He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and taken off life support overnight.

It’s unclear how the boy drowned in the pool, which was filled with other families.

Clayden, his brother and their parents were visiting the Phoenix area from New Mexico.

Police did not know where in New Mexico they were from.