Authorities say 2-year-old twin boys are dead after being found unresponsive in a suburban Phoenix home, and the children’s 22-year-old mother was arrested, who also tried to drown a third child at the home. Avondale police spokesman Brandon Busse says officers were called to a home near 115th Avenue and Yuma Street shortly before noon about reports of an ill person.
via Avondale FD: Twins die after being intentionally drowned by mother in bathtub – ABC15 Arizona.
A woman has died after the car she was driving was swept away by heavy floods in Tucson.
Tucson Fire Department spokesman Barrett Baker says rescue units responded to a residential neighborhood near 22nd Street and Kolb Road around 9:30 a.m. Monday. When they arrived, the car was submerged in the water and could not be reached.
The car was then swept away and traveled about two blocks before it became trapped against a bridge in a wash that had flooded over onto a major street.
The water was about 10 to 15 feet high, Baker said.
Firefighters have retrieved the woman’s body but have not been able to pull the car out of the wash.
Heavy rains continue in Phoenix and Tucson, flooding numerous streets and leaving several drivers stranded.
One Surprise family is extra lucky after their son was saved from fast waters near a storm drain at an elementary school Monday.
Brandon Espie with Surprise Fire Department says the young boy was caught in the storm drain located by Kingswood Elementary School near Bell and Reems roads.
The boy’s father was able to pull his son out of a potentially deadly situation and the boy was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Espie says not all details of the incident are available, but it appears that the boy simply got caught in the current of the storm drain near a green belt area.
Many Valley residents are spending the day playing in flooded parks and open spaces, but it’s best to avoid these areas, no matter how tempting they look.
via Boy saved from storm drain near Surprise elementary school
A 4-year-old girl has been taken to the hospital after a near-drowning incident in Avondale.
Avondale Fire Department spokesman Steve Ellsworth said a bystander gave the child CPR before paramedics arrived at the apartment community near El Mirage and Indian School roads.
Ellsworth said the girl was estimated to have been under water for about three minutes.
He said she was conscious, alert and crying when taken by ambulance to Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
Ellsworth did not know where the incident happened within the community.
via Bystander performs CPR on 4-year-old girl after near-drowning.
Authorities say a body pulled from a Gilbert canal has been identified as missing teenager.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office on Thursday identified the body as that of Maxwell Flancer.
His mother reported him missing Tuesday night after Flancer never showed up at his father’s home, located about a mile from the canal.
The teen’s mother found his hat floating in the canal Wednesday afternoon and called authorities.
A county sheriff’s dive team used an underwater robot with a camera and sonar to locate the body.
Gilbert police say the cause of death hasn’t been determined yet and the case remains under investigation.
via Body found in Gilbert canal identified as missing teen Matthew Flancer.
A Goodyear mother is in jail on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder after a drowning call involving her 21-month-old daughter.
Phoeteama Janiece Neal, 28, was booked into jail and being held on $1 million bond, said Lisa Kutis, of the Goodyear Police Department.
Officers said a drowning at a home in the 4200 block of Pebble Creek Parkway was called in about 1:35 p.m. on Monday, Kutis said.
According to the police report, the 911 dispatcher asked Neal what her emergency was and she said, “I just drowned my baby.”
“I just drowned her,” Neal told 911, according to the police report. “She’s dead.”
Police said the child, who was fully clothed, was taken by medical helicopter to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where she remained in extremely critical condition Tuesday morning, Kutis said.
The infant is on life support in pediatric ICU. Medical personnel estimate she has a 1 percent survival rate, according to the police report.
Neal was identified by her Air Force identification and was arrested.
Detectives said Neal learned earlier Monday morning that her child was to be relinquished to the baby’s father at the end of the month, according to the report.
The child’s biological father told police that Neal is scheduled to be deployed to Turkey on Aug. 31 and was trying to take the child with her, but a Maricopa County judge ruled that Neal could not take the girl to Turkey and that the father would get custody.
Stay with cbs5az.com and CBS 5 News as this story develops.
A 2-year-old boy from Florence died after falling into his family’s backyard pool Monday afternoon.
According to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, the boy’s 38-year-old mother and his five siblings, all under 15 years old, were home at the time.
Sgt. Pat Ramirez said the mother and most of the children were in the living room while two of the kids moved items from the backyard to the garage. While this was occurring, Parker Hargis was discovered to be missing.
The mother found the boy in the pool. She jumped in to get him then began performing CPR.
Parker was taken by ambulance to the Florence Anthem Hospital then airlifted to Maricopa Medical Center where hours later he was pronounced dead.
Sheriff Paul Babeu said the pool was fenced, but the gate had been propped open. He said Parker was missing for nearly five minutes before anybody noticed.
When the investigation is finished, the case will be referred to the Pinal County Attorney’s Office for review.
Statement from the family:
“The Hargis family is left distraught and saddened by the sudden loss of their son Parker “Pork Chop” Hargis due to drowning. Parker is survived by his parents, Brad and Jody, and five siblings.
“In the early afternoon of August 18th, two-year old Parker, while his family was unpacking the car, slipped into the backyard pool. His mother retrieved him and began effective CPR as one of the other children called 911. Parker was rushed to the Anthem hospital in Florence and then was flown to Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix. They were surrounded by immediate family and close friends when Parker passed away shortly after midnight.
“The Hargis family asks for the prayers of the community. There will be a Celebration of Life Service at Mountain View Family Church in Queen Creek on Saturday, Aug. 23rd at 5:00pm. The family is in great financial need during this very tragic time and can use the support of San Tan Valley and surrounding communities. You can make a donation at any Desert Schools Federal Credit Union under the Hargis Memorial Fund.”
A 21-month-old child in Goodyear has been transported to a local hospital in unstable condition, according to Goodyear police.
Emergency responders were called to a home around 1:35 p.m. near Indian School and Pebble Creek Parkway Monday regarding a child that wasn’t breathing.
Police said when they arrived on scene, firefighters were performing CPR on the child.
Authorities said they believe water may be involved, but are not calling it a drowning at this point.
No other details were immediately available.
Stay with ABC15 News, abc15.com and ABC15 mobile.
via 21-month-old in ‘unstable’ condition taken to hospital in Goodyear drowning
A 2-year-old is in extremely critical condition after a near drowning, according to a spokesman with Rural/Metro Fire Department.
Colin Williams, spokesman for Rural/Metro Fire, said crews were called to a home near Hunt Highway and Arizona Farms Road near Florence.
Williams said family was unloading stuff in the front yard after returning from a trip, when they lost site of the child.
The mother found the child in the backyard at the bottom of the pool, he said. She then gave “effective CPR” while paramedics were called.
The child was taken to Florence Anthem Hospital in critical condition, according to Williams. The child later died at Maricopa Medical Center.
Authorities from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office recovered a body from an Avondale canal Saturday.
According to MCSO’s Chris Hegstrom, a woman’s body was found in the water near 103rd Avenue and Thomas Road.
Though it has not been confirmed yet, officers believe the woman may have entered the water around 99th Avenue.
They are investigating the incident as a suicide, but the investigation is ongoing.
No other information is known at this time.
