FULLERTON : Boy Who Fell in Pool Is in Good Condition

A 3-year-old boy who almost drowned in a motel pool here was reported recovering and in good condition Friday.

The child, Joseph Lee Hill of Buena Park, fell or walked into the pool at the Ambassador Inn on Thursday afternoon. He was spotted lying on the bottom of the pool and pulled to the surface by his frantic mother, Doreen Hill, 25, police said. A guest at the motel, Sam Neforos, then applied mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to the child and revived him.

After initially being treated at Martin Luther Hospital in Anaheim, the boy was taken to Childrens Hospital of Orange County. A CHOC spokeswoman said Friday that the boy was in good condition.

Fullerton police, who investigated the incident, also said that the child was recovering well from the near tragedy. Sgt. Don Kimbro, head of the department’s juvenile division, said the child was “responding well and is alert, and we’re glad there’s no tragic ending to this.”

Kimbro said the police investigation determined that “this was an accident, one of those quick things that happen.” He said the mother was visiting at the motel on Thursday “and the boy was sitting next to her as she sat on a chaise lounge near the pool.”

“There was a period of only about two or three minutes when she didn’t see the child, and that’s when he slipped into the pool.”

Neforos, who revived the boy, said he did not know the mother but simply responded when she handed her unconscious son to him. Neforos said he was not sure about cardiopulmonary resuscitation procedures but attempted mouth-to-mouth breathing, and it worked.

“I had to take a chance; he wasn’t breathing at all,” Neforos said.