Boy, 2, Drowns in Hot Tub While Unattended

A 2-year-old boy died Saturday morning after he fell into a ground-level hot tub, authorities said. His mother and visitors to their home found him floating face down in the tub, they said.

The toddler, whose name was not released, was transported by ambulance to Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where he was pronounced dead.

The adults “didn’t realize he was missing for anywhere from two to 10 minutes,” said Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Bob Tumas, adding that no one saw the boy fall in.

According to Tumas, a teen-age girl had been playing with the child while his mother visited with another friend just before the 11:44 a.m. incident.

“For whatever reason, the older teen-ager turned her back,” Tumas said. “And they found the child face down in the Jacuzzi.”

When paramedics arrived at the home in the 12600 block of Terra Bella Street, they found the boy’s mother and the others performing CPR and then took over themselves, but to no avail, Tumas said.

Because no one witnessed the drowning, detectives investigated the accident but found no evidence of foul play, Tumas said, and no charges were filed.

The hot tub was next to a swimming pool, and on the same level, without the protection of a gate or fence, Tumas said.

“Once again, this points out the importance of keeping an eye on young children, especially around bodies of water,” said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey. The problem “is not a lack of attention, but a lapse in attention.”