Two-Year-Old Nearly Drowns In Rancho Mirage

A 2-year-old boy nearly drowned today in a pool at a Rancho Mirage home, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

Medics responded to a report of a near-drowning at 11:12 a.m. at 112 Shoreline Drive, said department spokeswoman Cheri Patterson.

The toddler, while being watched by his grandmother, opened a back door and went directly into the pool, Patterson said.

The grandmother was able to pull the child from the pool and his father performed CPR before medics arrived, she said, adding that the toddler had a pulse when he was taken to Eisenhower Medical Center.

Patterson reminded parents with young children to put up barriers around pools such as latched gates or fences, install alarms on windows and doors and learn how to perform CPR.

“Drownings are 100 percent preventable,” she said.

From 2005-09, 63 children aged 17 and under drowned in Riverside County, with 54 of those deaths involving youngsters under the age of 5, Patterson said.