First responders help save two toddlers from near drowning
Update 5/14/17: One of the toddlers was pronounced dead on May 12. Her twin sister woke up the same day and is currently in critical condition.
Read: Toddler dead, twin sister in critical condition weeks after falling into backyard pool
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First responders help save two children in a near-drowning incident. At 5:28 p.m. Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Fighters and several other law enforcement agencies were dispatched to the area of the 11000 block of Steeplechase Drive.
The member of the Moreno Valley Police Department who responded first, Rafael Victorio, spoke to our news team tonight and confirmed the events. He said when he first arrived on scene he went to the backyard near the pool area and then entered the main house after hearing a woman scream. He said the parents called emergency services. Victorio and other first responders administered the necessary CPR to keep the children alive until an ambulance took them to the hospital. The two children, whose identity is still unknown, are twins and about 18 months old.
Check out Kris Long’s Special Report on Pool Safety
A routine patrol by Sheriff’s corporal Rafael Victorio turned into a life or death situation on Sunday, April 29.
“I was the first unit to arrive,” he said, “and as soon as I arrived I ran to the backyard. I assumed that the children were in the backyard. They were not. I heard someone screaming from inside the house.”
Upon entering the residence, Victorio saw two children on the floor.
“I just right away just went to the child and said real quick ‘God be with these babies’ and started CPR.”
Three officers are being heralded by their respective departments as heroes for their involvement in saving the children’s lives.
“I checked for a pulse, I didn’t find one” said Ryan Huizinga, he entered the home after Victorio. “I did not find one and started CPR at that time. You can’t ever be prepared for that. You don’t know what you’re going to see.”
The twins, one boy and one girl were transported to the hospital in time. Both children survived the incident.
Jeff Hurd, Sheriff’s Corporal for the Riverside County Sheriff’s office, accompanied the children to the hospital.
“Being there at the hospital and watching. Focusing back and forth on both infants being worked on at the hospital and the prayers just continued, said” Jeff Hurd, Sheriff’s Corporal for the Riverside County Sheriff’s office, accompanied the children to the hospital.
“The entire time during this situation all I could do was pray,” said Hurd, “that the kids the infants made a recovery and that the parents and the family find clarity in this.”
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office told our news team the twins are recovering in the hospital as of Monday night. Their condition on April 29th was listed as critical.
