Children's Safety Zone

MARANA, AZ – A woman who was swept away in a flooded southern Arizona wash during heavy monsoon rains was found dead Friday, authorities said.

Pima County sheriff’s officials said the body of 52-year-old Angelina Carrasco was recovered from her car, which was found upside down and partially submerged in a flooded wash north of Tucson.

Multiple law enforcement and fire agencies had searched by air and ground for hours for Carrasco, whose husband was injured in the incident.

Sheriff’s spokesman Tom Peine said deputies got a call from a motorist stuck in a wash early Friday. The man, who was able to get out, said he heard another man yelling for help and saying his legs were broken.

Rescuers in the community of Marana found that man on a sand bank surrounded by water around 6 a.m. He told them he had been there for hours but his wife had been swept away. The man in his 60s was taken to a hospital for treatment of a fractured pelvis, according to authorities.

Three other vehicles were found in a wash nearby, but the occupants were safe, Tucson TV station KVOA reported.

Meanwhile, several drivers had to be pulled from their cars by fire crews in the Phoenix suburbs of Goodyear, Mesa and Apache Junction.

Goodyear fire crews used a raft to rescue a man who was stranded atop his utility company truck in a flooded wash Friday evening.

The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings Friday morning for parts of Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, after up to 3 inches of rain fell in some areas.

A stretch of the U.S. 60 freeway in the area was inundated, with drivers having to cross flowing water and traffic backed up for more than a mile.

GOODYEAR, AZ – Fire officials say a 2-year-old boy who was found floating in a swimming pool earlier this week in Goodyear has died.

The drowning incident happened around 4 p.m. Tuesday at a home near Van Buren Street and Sarival Avenue.

Goodyear fire spokesman Russ Braden said the boy died Thursday morning.

A parent of the child found him in the pool, Goodyear police Lt. Scott Benson said.

The boy was not breathing on his own and was initially listed in critical condition when he was airlifted to a hospital.

Authorities said the drowning happened at his grandmother’s house after other children had just gotten home from school.

Everyone lost track of the boy, authorities said.

There was a pool fence, but it’s unclear if it was open or closed at the time.

They said they believe the child was under water for at least five minutes.

SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ – Authorities say a 1-year-old girl has died after she was found in a swimming pool Tuesday afternoon in San Tan Valley.

Colin Williams with the Rural/Metro Fire Department said the girl was in the swimming pool for an unknown amount of time at a home near Skyline Drive and Gary Road.

Authorities said the backdoor to the house was left open and the child went in the backyard and fell into the pool.
 
The grandmother came out a short time later and discovered her granddaughter still in the pool. The grandmother jumped into the pool, pulled the child out and performed CPR on her until emergency crews arrived.

The child was transported to a local hospital and then transported by air ambulance to Cardon Children’s Hospital in Mesa where she later died.

The name of the child hasn’t been released yet.

In anticipation of the thousands of gatherings around public and private pools over the Independence Day holiday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is reminding parents and children alike of the steps they should take to stay safe when spending time in the water.

The July 4th holiday has traditionally seen an increase in the number of pool and spa drownings, compared to an average week over the rest of the summer. According to data compiled from media reports by USA Swimming, during the last three years over the week of July 4^th an average of 26 children drowned in pools and spas. In 2012, 30 pool or spa-related drownings were reported involving children younger than 15 over the week of the July 4 holiday (June 30 through July 6); in 2011, there were 25 drownings reported; and in 2010, 24 drownings for the same age range.

” I want families and friends to enjoy their time together in and around the pool during the July 4^th holiday,” Chairman Tenenbaum said. “But if past years are any guide, unless we all follow the simple safety steps around the pool, more than two dozen families will suffer a tragic loss during the week of Independence Day.”

“Teach your children how to swim, put a fence around the pool and designate a Water Watcher–an adult who knows how to swim to watch the children in and around the water at all times,” added Chairman Tenenbaum.

Annually, CPSC reports that nearly 300 children under the age of five drown in a pool or spa and another 5,100 children under the age of 15 go to hospital emergency rooms for near-drowning injuries. Children between the ages of 1 and 3 and African American children between the ages of 5 and 19 are most at risk of drowning.

CPSC’s Pool Safely campaign (PoolSafely.gov) is a national public education effort to reduce child drownings, near-drownings and entrapments in swimming pools and spas. For the second year, the campaign is focusing on populations most at risk of drowning.

CPSC reminds all families to take the following steps to ensure that their time at the pool is safe for everyone “ﾓ not just during the July 4^th holiday, but all year long: 

Staying Close, Being Alert and Watching Children in and Around the Pool

• Never leave a child unattended in a pool or spa and always watch your children closely around all bodies of water. Designate a water watcher to supervise children in the pool or spa. This person should not be reading, texting, using a smart phone or otherwise distracted. Adults can take turns being a Water Watcher.
• Teach children basic water safety tips.
• Keep children away from pool drains, pipes and other openings to avoid entrapments.
• Have a telephone close by when you or your family are using a pool or spa.
• If a child is missing, look for him or her in the pool or spa first.
• Share safety instructions with family, friends and neighbors.

Learning and Practicing Water Safety Skills

• Learn how to swim and teach your child how to swim.
• Learn how to perform CPR on children and adults, and update those skills regularly.
• Understand the basics of life-saving so that you can assist in a pool emergency.

Having the Appropriate Equipment for Your Pool or Spa

• Install a four-foot or taller fence around the perimeter of the pool and spa and use self-closing and self-latching gates; ask your neighbors to do the same at their pools.
• Install and use a lockable safety cover on your spa.
• If your house serves as a fourth side of a fence around a pool, install and use a door or pool alarm.
• Maintain pool and spa covers in good working order.
• Ensure any pool and spa you use has drain covers that comply with federal standards, and, if you do not know, ask your pool service provider whether your covers are in compliance.
• Have lifesaving equipment such as life rings, floats or a reaching pole available and easily accessible.

An off-duty Phoenix firefighter saved a 3-year-old boy from drowning Saturday afternoon, fire authorities said.

The firefighter, whose name was not released, found the boy floating at a resort pool near 16th Street and Belmont Avenue at about 3:30 p.m.

He quickly pulled the child from the pool. The child was lifeless and not breathing. The off-duty firefighter began CPR and after a few minutes, the child regained consciousness, said Phoenix Fire Department spokesman Capt. Jonathan Jacobs.

“The actions of this firefighter were crucial in the survival of this child,” Jacobs said.

The child was rushed to a local emergency room. He was in stable condition.