Tot Who Fell Into Spa Dies Three Days Later

A toddler who fell into his baby-sitter’s backyard spa last week died Sunday at a hospital in Orange, officials said.

Austin Stark, 2, was taken off life support about 5 p.m., three days after he and a 1-year-old girl fell into the patio spa at Pamela Lucero’s home in Fullerton. The children, who are not related, apparently opened a sliding glass door to get outside, officials said.

Paramedics managed to revive the girl, who recovered and was released from the hospital. Austin, however, was in cardiac arrest when he was pulled from the water and had remained in critical condition at Children’s Hospital of Orange County. An Orange County coroner’s spokesman said the toddler never regained consciousness.

Fullerton police said the baby-sitter was not running a day-care center out of her home, but watching the children for acquaintances. Detectives are handling the case as an accidental drowning and do not suspect criminal negligence or misconduct, Lt. Geoff Spalding said.

About an hour after Thursday’s incident in Fullerton, another toddler drowned in Anaheim, at a hotel pool where her family had been vacationing from Utah. The 3-year-old’s uncle left the girl, whose name has not been released, while he went to the nearby office for a set of keys.

The accidents occurred just as Orange County Fire Authority officials were about to begin an annual campaign to prevent pool drownings. So far this year, the authority has responded to 26 near-drownings and five drownings.