A teenager is in critical condition after nearly drowning at an apartment pool on the westside Wednesday night.
Officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said witnesses pulled the girl from the pool and performed CPR until rescue crews arrived and took her to the hospital.
It marks the second close call at Madelyn Oaks Apartments in about a month. In early June, a child was pulled from a retention pond in critical condition.
Action News Jax reached out to the complex, owned by Highmark, to see if management is taking any additional safety precautions since the near-drowning, but we have not heard back.
It comes as the sixth drowning or near-drowning in Northeast Florida so far this year.
According to the Department of Children and Families, 2021 saw the highest number of drownings since 2009 with 98 total across the state. There was six total in Duval last year that killed all kids under 10 years old.
“As shallow as 6 inches of water, and I think the biggest thing to remind people is it can take less than 20 seconds for someone to slip below the surface,” Delraye Norris, a regional aquatics director at the YMCA serving Clay and Baker counties, said. “I immediately get chills and I send a prayer out to all that are involved because obviously it’s a very traumatic experience for anyone and everyone.”
Norris said the YMCA offers swimming lessons for kids starting at six months old, but she said it is growing in popularity with adults also.
She reminds parents to keep a close eye on their kids around water, especially as summer heats up.
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