SIMI VALLEY : Near-Drowning Puts Boy in Critical State
A Simi Valley boy remained in critical condition at a Los Angeles hospital Sunday after nearly drowning in a neighbor’s pool, authorities and witnesses said.
The boy, identified by the neighbor as Joshua Smith, 4, was discovered at the bottom of a swimming pool at the home of James Neal, on the 1100 block of Royal Avenue around 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
Neal said that Joshua and his three brothers, ages 6, 9 and 12, were attending an impromptu swimming party at the Neal home with Neal’s son when the accident occurred.
After several hours of swimming under Neal’s supervision, the boys had got out of the pool and were toweling off when they discovered that Joshua was missing.
Neal, 39, said that when he found Joshua at the bottom of the pool, he dived in, pulled the child out and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him. Simi Valley police believe he may have been under water for up to five minutes.
Joshua was first transported to a local hospital and then transferred to Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Los Angeles, where he was admitted to the pediatric intensive-care unit.
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