DROWNING DEATHS

Children under 5, the all-too-frequent victims of accidents in which they fall into swimming pools while left unattended, account for 21% of the drownings in California and 27% in Los Angeles County, according to a survey by the state. In addition, the number of young children institutionalized following a near-drowning accident more than doubled from 1984 to 1986. In all, 77 near-drowning victims age 5 and under are receiving services from the state after suffering irreversible brain injury, according to Gary D. Macomber, director of the California Department of Developmental Services. The chart below lists statistics for 1986.

AGE COUNTY TOTAL UNDER 5 OTHER Alameda 13 3 10 Amador 2 0 2 Butte 5 0 5 Calaveras 4 1 3 Colusa 3 0 3 Contra Costa 4 1 3 Del Norte 3 0 3 El Dorado 6 1 5 Fresno 29 8 21 Glenn 1 1 0 Humboldt 4 0 4 Imperial 36 0 36 Inyo 1 1 0 Kern 23 3 20 Kings 2 0 2 Lake 3 0 3 Los Angeles 151 41 110 Madera 3 1 2 Marin 5 0 5 Mariposa 2 0 2 Mendocino 3 0 3 Merced 8 0 8 Mono 2 0 2 Monterey 16 2 14 Napa 1 0 1 Nevada 3 2 1 Orange 44 18 26 Placer 8 0 8 Plumas 5 0 5 Riverside 23 4 19 Sacramento 20 9 11 San Bernardino 27 10 17 San Diego 53 11 42 San Francisco 6 0 6 San Joaquin 13 1 12 San Luis Obispo 4 0 4 San Mateo 9 1 8 Santa Barbara 4 1 3 Santa Clara 23 8 15 Santa Cruz 14 1 13 Shasta 9 1 8 Siskiyou 4 1 3 Solano 1 0 1 Sonoma 13 2 11 Stanislaus 14 2 12 Sutter 5 0 5 Tehama 2 0 2 Trinity 1 0 1 Tulare 14 2 12 Tuolumne 2 0 2 Ventura 9 1 8 Yolo 4 0 4 Yuba 5 2 3 TOTAL 669 140 529

Source: State Department of Health Services