Toddler Almost Drowns in Bathtub

Doctors were trying to save a 15-month-old boy who nearly drowned after being left alone in his family’s bathtub Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

Jay Thompson was being bathed by his mother in the family’s apartment on Whipporwhill Street in east Ventura about 12:20 p.m., according to police. Christina Martinez, 21, told investigators she left her son in the tub while she went to answer the telephone, police and fire officials said.

Martinez told authorities that when there was no noise from the bathroom, she went back to check and found her son underwater, Ventura Fire Capt. Glenn True said.

Police arrived at the apartment within minutes of a 911 call. Officers performed CPR on the child as he lay on the living room couch. After paramedics arrived, the boy was rushed to Ventura County Medical Center.

Hospital officials refused to provide information on the child’s condition. But police said the boy’s lungs had filled with water and he was in serious condition. Meanwhile, Martinez and other family members gathered in the hallway near the emergency room. They declined comment.

The family’s other child, age 2, was in the apartment at the time of the injury and was staying with grandparents Tuesday night, police said. Police had interviewed Martinez and provided few other details, saying their investigation was incomplete.

The incident occurred just two weeks after Colton Clarke, an 18-month-old Camarillo boy, drowned at a family reunion in Oak Park. The boy had wandered outdoors and was found minutes later in the swimming pool.

Such incidents have prompted county fire officials to launch a water safety campaign, urging parents to avoid leaving their children near water and to teach kids about the dangers of going in water alone. Called Water Awareness Training for Children in the Home, the program is to begin this summer with the release of informational pamphlets to parents.

Ventura city officials investigating Tuesday’s incident stressed similar precautions.

When young children are in water, “you cannot take your eyes off [them] for one second” without risk, said Ventura Police Det. Quinn Fenwick.