Nine-year-old boy drowns in Silver Spring pool

Friday, June 13, 2008

Nine-year-old boy drowns in Silver Spring pool

by Gazette Staff

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A 9-year-old boy died at the hospital Friday evening after being pulled from the bottom of a pool at a Silver Spring apartment complex, according public safety officials.

Shortly after 6 p.m., Montgomery County Fire and Rescue personnel responded to a report of a possible drowning in the outdoor community pool at the Rollingwood Apartments, 2535 Ross Road in the Forest Glen area of Silver Spring.

The boy's friends saw the boy at the bottom of the pool and told a lifeguard who pulled him out and began cardio-pulmonary resuscitation as someone else called 911, said Pete Piringer, a spokesman for fire and rescue.

A lifeguard began resuscitation efforts before paramedics from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service arrived, took over rescue attempts and transported him to Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring.

An emergency dispatcher provided instructional aid to the lifeguard as fire and rescue units were responding. Paramedics took over resuscitation efforts until they arrived at the hospital, Piringer said. The boy died a short time later, Piringer said.

Police are withholding the boy's identity until relatives have been notified, according to a news release from county police.

Police will investigate the incident as they do with all sudden and accidental deaths, according to the release. The cause of death will be determined by an autopsy handled by the state Medical Examiner's Office in Baltimore.