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 WORCESTER— A 13-year-old boy who was reported to have drowned Sunday evening in an apartment complex swimming pool survived and remains hospitalized in critical condition, according to Police Department spokesman Sgt. Gary J. Quitadamo. The boy, who was reported as a drowning victim, was transported to St. Vincent Hospital at Worcester Medical Center, where, after several minutes of effort, doctors and staff revived him, according to a police report. The victim, a resident of Anthony Arms complex at 328 Greenwood St., was pulled from the bottom of the 8-foot-deep end of the pool shortly before 7 p.m. and given CPR by apartment residents and workers before paramedics arrived, police said. Sgt. Quitadamo said yesterday that the boy was at the pool with his 8-year-old brother and dove in. He did not come up. He remained in critical condition yesterday at St. Vincent Hospital, Sgt. Quitadamo said. Police refused to identify the victim. A nursing coordinator at St. Vincent Hospital declined to provide an update on his condition last night. At 6:46 p.m. Sunday, state police transferred a 911 call from a cell phone reporting a person at the bottom of the pool. At 7:05 p.m., the department’s Service Division notified the detective bureau of a drowning, according to a police report. Rodney G. Gosselin, a resident of the complex, said he had gone to the pool with his girlfriend and saw a small boy standing next to the pool calling a name. The boy then told Mr. Gosselin that the person had been under the water for “a long time,” he said about an hour after the incident. Mr. Gosselin and a manager, Robert Cronkhite, pulled the boy from the water, and Mr. Cronkhite and others performed CPR on the unconscious boy until paramedics arrived, Mr. Gosselin said. The pool is enclosed by a chain-link fence that has a warning sign about 18-by-24 inches on the gate warning bathers that there is no lifeguard on duty. Another such sign is posted on a maintenance building next to the pool. There is also a sign on the fence warning that children 16 and younger should not use the pool without adult supervision. Mr. Cronkhite said that the boys were told that they were to have an adult with them about 10 minutes before police got the call. Police Detectives Daniel Rosario and Lt. David P. Grady are investigating.. Lifesaving Resources Inc. - www.lifesaving.com - 603/563-8330 |
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