Update: The San Mateo County Coroner's Office has identified the girl killed in the accident as 3-year-old Aanya Sandhu of Fremont.
A 3-year-old girl drowned last Thursday (May 23) in the backyard swimming pool of an Atherton home during a party, town officials have confirmed.
The girl, an Alameda County resident whom Atherton police have not named, was at a family gathering at a home on the 100 block of Stockbridge Avenue when the incident occurred, said Atherton Police Cmdr. Joe Wade.
Family members searched for the girl when they became aware that she was missing; they found her in the pool and pulled her out of the water, Wade said. Police were dispatched around 7:04 p.m., and when they arrived two minutes later they found the girl nonresponsive and not breathing.
Police administered CPR until Menlo Park Fire Protection District paramedics arrived. She was taken to Stanford Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, Wade said.
City Attorney Bill Conners said there was no barrier around the pool.
Swimming pools built before 1985 aren't required to have such barriers, but the town is interested in sending a letter to residents informing them of the dangers of not having some sort of barrier around pools, he said. Children or someone with Alzheimer's disease could wander into the pool area if such a protection isn't in place, he added.
"This is a wake-up call for all of us," Conners said. "It's a huge tragedy."
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Comments
Registered user
Atherton: Lindenwood
on May 30, 2019 at 12:17 pm
Registered user
on May 30, 2019 at 12:17 pm
So very sad.
Menlo Park: Downtown
on May 30, 2019 at 1:10 pm
on May 30, 2019 at 1:10 pm
Just breaks my heart. Can't imagine the pain. Sending hugs to the parents.
Elsie
another community
on May 30, 2019 at 4:30 pm
on May 30, 2019 at 4:30 pm
This is so unfortunate. Pool barriers should be made mandatory.
No matter how involved parents are with kids, just 1 minute can change life if you are near dangerously open water body. [Portion removed because it refers to a comment that has been taken down.]
Atherton: West Atherton
on May 30, 2019 at 6:56 pm
on May 30, 2019 at 6:56 pm
I am so sorry for the family's loss.
In terms of the town, why not change the requirement but give, say five years, for home owners to become compliant? I do think though, it needs to be a barrier around the pool OR a pool cover one can walk on. Here is an example of a company who makes and installs such covers on existing pools in the area: Web Link (Note: I do not work for them. I am just a happy customer of theirs.)
Atherton: other
on May 30, 2019 at 10:46 pm
on May 30, 2019 at 10:46 pm
I am a swim coach and need like this is just heartbreaking. My deepest condolences extend to her family and loved ones.
All lifeguards, instructors, and pool owners should be diligently safe out there. This is a tragic reality with unimaginable heartache. God bless!
Menlo Park: Belle Haven
on Jul 5, 2019 at 7:36 pm
on Jul 5, 2019 at 7:36 pm
One rarely highlighted aspect of a child drowning is that it is generally NOT a CPR situation. The child is suffering from hypoxia - a lack of oxygen. Kids have strong hearts that can tolerate drowning for a little while. But you only have four minutes to get O2 to the child’s brain and who knows when the clock started running down.
Start 5 or 6 rescue breathes immediately. Cover mouth and nose and watch out of the corner of your eye for chest expansion. Don’t bother losing time fumbling around to feel a pulse or listening for a heart beat or breathe sounds. Don’t finger sweep the mouth or mess around with text book “head tilt”. Just get oxygen into the kid’s lungs, even if it means starting the breathes while the child is still in the water.
If the child starts breathing, coughing and whimpering, you were both lucky.
If not, then check for a pulse. If not found, do compressions and rescue breathes. The crucial point: a child drowning is A-B - and maybe C. Airway, Breathes and compressions if the heart has stopped. This cyanotic, blue-lipped child in front of you has four minutes for you to do the right thing.