Onalaska men injured in Florida boating accident
Friends of an Onalaska man severely injured in a boating accident in Florida are planning a prayer service for him.
35-year-old Jason Baldner of Onalaska is still in critical condition Wednesday after the accident Saturday in Cape Coral, Florida.
The driver of the boat, 36-year-old Jason Williams, an Onalaska native currently living in Cape Coral, has been upgraded to good condition. Another man on the boat, 31-year-old Eric Terpsma of Cape Coral, has also been upgraded to good condition.
A non-denominational prayer service will be held for Jason Baldner Wednesday at Holmen Lutheran Church at 5:30 p.m.
Neighbors vow to put fence around lake after Florida toddler drowns
An Immokalee toddler who drowned Saturday in a retention lake just yards from his back door could have been alive today if the lake had been fenced in, a neighbor said Sunday.
Branden Luna, 2, was found in the lake at 7:07 p.m. by Collier County Sheriff’s emergency personnel, about two hours after he went missing from the family home at 3703 Justice Circle.
The family and some friends were having a cookout, said Marisol Mendosa, who spoke for the family at their home Sunday.
“They were playing in a plastic pool to cool down,” Mendosa said. “The doors of the house were open, and people were going in and out all the time. Branden’s mom was cooking and thought his dad was watching him outside, but the dad thought he was inside.”
Once the alarm was raised, the whole neighborhood (consisting of about 24 households) came out to search for the boy, Mendosa said.
“We didn’t want to believe he was in the water, but unfortunately he was,” she said.
She said the houses flanking the lake are in a low-income development and residents have been concerned about the unfenced lake.
Some near drownings have occurred in the past, Mendosa said.
A similar lake at nearby Lake Trafford Elementary School is fenced, she said, because “the county knows it is dangerous.”
Mendosa said the neighbors had conferred after Saturday’s tragedy, and had vowed to get the lake fenced.
“We’ll do it even if we have to pay for it ourselves,” Mendosa said.
Sunday morning, friends and neighbors converged on the Luna household to offer their condolences.
Direct family members also drove in overnight from the Carolinas and Virginia to be with their grieving relatives.
Investigators have said Branden’s death doesn’t appear to be suspicious.
The Luna couple also has an 8-month-old baby.
LCSO reveals name of Florida lake drowning victim
Mornining update
Leon County Sheriff spokesman Sgt. Tony Drzewiecki has revealed the name of the man who died after drowning Sunday afternoon in Dog Lake off of Springhill Road.
Marco Antonio Navarro Garcia, 41, was pronounced dead after being flown to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. Drzewiecki said it was reported that Garcia was possibly swimming across the length of Dog Lake when he drowned.
An autopsy will be performed on Garcia today.
Evening update
The Leon County Sheriff’s Office is investigating what appears to be a drowning this afternoon in Dog Lake, off of Springhill Road, said spokesman Sgt. Tony Drzewiecki.
The man’s name is not being released at this time and an autopsy will be performed Monday morning.
The Sheriff’s Office was called around 4:50 p.m. to the lake off Dog Lake Tower Road in the Apalachicola National Forest.
The man was swimming when he started experiencing problems.
Spring Hill mom saves toddler from drowning
A Spring Hill woman rescued her infant son after he fell into a swimming pool on Mother’s Day, authorities say.
Angela Thompson, 19, told deputies she went outside to retrieve a cigarette lighter from her 1-year-old son’s father, who was working in the yard of the home at 4301 Hoffman Ave. on Sunday evening, according to a report from the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.
When she returned, she saw her child in the shallow end of the pool.
Thompson dived in, grabbed the boy and laid him down beside the pool, the report states. The boy was not breathing, and Thompson started to perform CPR. Water came out of the boy’s mouth and nose and he started to breathe again, Thompson later told deputies.
A neighbor heard Thompson screaming and came to help.
Thompson estimated the boy was in the pool for 15 to 30 seconds, according to the report.
The toddler was taken to Oak Hill Hospital, where he was treated for a bump on the head. A doctor told a deputy the boy was going to be fine, the report said.
Thompson told deputies she shut a door leading from the house to the pool area, but authorities believe that window blinds that hang on the door may have prevented it from closing completely, the report states. There was no safety fence around the pool.
Retrial begins in drowning case
A retrial is beginning for a man accused of drowning his wife in their bathtub almost two years ago.
Jury selection started Monday in the trial of 29-year-old Ryan Widmer. He’s accused of killing 24-year-old Sarah Widmer at the couple’s home in August 2008.
Widmer was convicted in April 2009 of killing his wife, but the conviction was set aside by a judge after allegations of juror misconduct during deliberations.
Widmer has been free on bond while awaiting his retrial.
He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after his conviction in the first trial. Widmer has maintained his innocence, saying he loved his wife and didn’t hurt her.
Miami man drowned, body found in Fort Meyers
Nick Potts wouldn’t give up until the body of his older brother, Gary, who drowned Sunday in the Caloosahatchee River, was found.
On Wednesday morning, his determination was sadly rewarded. He and a cousin found Gary Potts’ body in mangroves on the north shore of the river about 2 miles from where he disappeared.
“It was a miracle that we found him. Now we have closure,” said Potts, 50, of North Fort Myers.
Although he’s satisfied his brother was found, he is still in shock over his death, Potts said. “I’m still numb. I’m going to miss him dearly,” he said.
Potts and his cousin, Keith Hartzell, 50, of Cape Coral, did what sheriff’s patrol boats, helicopters, and divers failed to do since Gary Potts, 54, of Punta Gorda, climbed down the ladder of their boat and into the river to cool off near Bay Pointe Yacht and Racquet Club in North Fort Myers on Sunday afternoon. Potts said he tried to save his brother but couldn’t.
Divers called off their efforts Monday afternoon after searching the river bottom in the area of the yacht club all day. Sheriff’s marine patrol boats found nothing Tuesday.
Potts said he then asked sheriff’s officials if the family could continue the search and was given the go-ahead by detectives.
Potts said he and Hartzell got on personal watercraft and began searching the river banks.
Around 10:45 a.m., Hartzell said he saw something in the mangroves on the north shore of the river just west of Interstate 75. He said he moved closer with the personal watercraft.
“It was Gary,” he said.
Hartzell called 911 and family and friends, who called Potts, who was at another point on the river.
A sheriff’s patrol boat took the body to shore. The medical examiner’s office has not made an identification or determined the cause of death, said Sgt. Stephanie Eller, a sheriff’s spokeswoman.
Potts said Gary died doing what he loved to do: boating and swimming.
“We had so much fun boating. We swam in the river, in canals, in my pool. We’ve been playing on the water for more than 30 years,” Potts said.
He believes Gary’s injuries from a car accident a year ago contributed to the drowning.
“He never fully recovered. His body wasn’t strong enough to do what he thought it could,” Potts said.
Fort Worth automobile accident – Car slams into pond upside down; kills 4
A single-vehicle crash claimed the lives of four people on Saturday, December 26, 2009. A four-door was found in a Southlake pond upside down around 11:20 a.m., as reported by the Star-Telegram.
According to Southlake Department of Public Safety, a small four-door Toyota Avalon careened through the Lonesome Dove Road and Burney Lane intersection, hit a metal pipe fence, slammed into a tree, and landed in a pond upside down, trapping the occupants inside in about 6-feet of water. There reportedly weren’t any skid marks left on the roadway, only ruts in the dirt that led to the edge of the pond. The owner of the property where the pond is located stated that her husband jumped into the pond, and recovered a female passenger. He reportedly tried to free the other occupants on the other side of the car but wasn’t able to get the door open. The female passenger freed by the good Samaritan was rushed by a helicopter ambulance to an area hospital. Two occupants of the car, Monty Hardy, 56, of Southlake and Hadassah Vance, 35, of Euless were pronounced dead after they were rushed to Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine for treatment. The cause of death has not been determined for either victim at this time. Two other victims, Wendy Akion, 38, of Irving, and Sharon Ransom, 56, of Grapevine were rushed to hospital for treatment. Both Akion and Ransom passed away on Sunday while at the hospital. Police officials are currently investigating how and why the crash occurred. The Toyota Avalon is reportedly among the 4 million cars that were recalled because of stuck accelerators. Police officials are exploring the possibility that the accelerator may have contributed to the fatal accident.
If you have been involved in an auto accident, contact us for a free consultation.
1 Dead, Another Injured in Fall Into New Jersey Lake
One man died and another was injured after they apparently fell through some ice and went into a northern New Jersey lake on Sunday afternoon.
The men became submerged in Indian Lake in Denville at about 2:45 p.m. Sunday, said Capt. Jeffrey Paul, a spokesman for the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
Emergency responders soon arrived and quickly pulled out one man, identified only as a 37-year-old Morris Township resident. But Steve Savare, a 36-year-old Denville resident, was harder to reach and remained in the chilly waters for about 30 minutes.
Savare was taken Morristown Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 6:15 p.m., Paul said. The other man was taken to a different hospital, and further details on his condition were not disclosed.
Investigators were trying to determine why the men were on the lake and what caused them to fall in the water, Paul said.
Public Playground Safety Checklist
Is your public playground a safe place to play?
Each year, more than 200,000 children go to U.S. hospital emergency rooms with injuries associated with playground equipment. Most injuries occur when a child falls from the equipment onto the ground.
Use this simple checklist to help make sure your local community or school playground is a safe place to play.
Public Playground Safety Checklist
- Make sure surfaces around playground equipment have at least 12 inches of wood chips, mulch, sand, or pea gravel, or are mats made of safety-tested rubber or rubber-like materials.
- Check that protective surfacing extends at least 6 feet in all directions from play equipment. For swings, be sure surfacing extends, in back and front, twice the height of the suspending bar.
- Make sure play structures more than 30 inches high are spaced at least 9 feet apart.
- Check for dangerous hardware, like open “S” hooks or protruding bolt ends.
- Make sure spaces that could trap children, such as openings in guardrails or between ladder rungs, measure less than 3.5 inches or more than 9 inches.
- Check for sharp points or edges in equipment.
- Look out for tripping hazards, like exposed concrete footings, tree stumps, and rocks.
- Make sure elevated surfaces, like platforms and ramps, have guardrails to prevent falls.
- Check playgrounds regularly to see that equipment and surfacing are in good condition.
- Carefully supervise children on playgrounds to make sure they’re safe.
Pool Safety for Kids: Lessons Learned
The following was article was written by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. I hope you read the article and take something from it.
Preventing Child Drownings
In some of the nation’s sunbelt, drowning has been the leading cause of accidental death in the home of children under 5 years old. The information below can help parents and caregivers provide young children with the protection they deserve.
Each year, nationwide, more than 300 children under 5 years old drown in residential swimming pools, usually a pool owned by their family. In addition, more than 2,000 children in that age group are treated in hospital emergency rooms for submersion injures.
Medical costs for submersion victims during the initial hospitalization alone can be quite high. Costs can range from an estimated $2,000 for a victim who recovers fully to $80,000 for a victim with severe brain damage. Some severely brain damaged victims have initial hospital stays in excess of 120 days and expenses in excess of $150,000.
Many communities have enacted safety regulations governing residential swimming pools — inground and aboveground. It’s up to parents to comply with these regulations. Apart from these laws, parents who own pools, can take their own precautions to reduce the chances of their youngsters accessing the family pool or spa without adult supervision.
Facts and Figures
Following are just a few facts uncovered by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in a comprehensive study of drowning and submersion incidents involving children under 5 years old in Arizona, California, and Florida.
Seventy-five percent of the submersion victims studied by CPSC were between I and 3 years old; 65 percent of this group were boys. Toddlers, in particular, often do something unexpected because their capabilities change daily.
At the time of the incidents, most victims were being supervised by one or both parents. Forty-six percent of the victims were last seen in the house; 23 percent were last seen in the yard or on the porch or patio; and 31 percent were in or around the pool before the accident. In all, 69 percent of the children were not expected to be at or in the pool, yet they were found in the water.
Submersion incidents involving children usually happen in familiar surroundings. Sixty-five percent of the incidents happened in a pool owned by the child’s family and 33 percent o the incidents happened in a pool owned by friends or relatives.
Pool submersions involving children happen quickly. A child can drown in the time it takes to answer a phone. Seventy-seven percent of the victims had been missing from sight for 5 minutes or less.
Survival depends on rescuing the child quickly and restarting the breathing process, even while the child is still in the water. Seconds count in preventing death or brain damage.
Child drowning is a silent death. There’s no splashing to alert anyone that the child is in trouble.
Barriers
The following barrier recommendations are the result of identifying key parameters that typically contribute to child drowning in backyard pools. These recommendations are the minimum steps you can take to make your home a safe place for your child.
Barriers are not childproof, but they provide layers of protection for a child who strays from supervision. Barriers give parents additional time to locate a child before the unexpected becomes a reality.
Barriers include a fence or wall, door alarms for the house, and a power safety cover over the pool. Barriers also may be used to protect children from accessing hot tubs and spas. Use the following recommendations as a guide:
Fences and Gates
Install a fence or other barrier, such as a wall, completely around the pool. If the house is part of the barrier, the doors leading from the house to the pool should be protected with an alarm or the pool should have a power safety cover. Alarm and cover details are below.
The fence or other barrier should be at least 4 feet high. It should have no foot- or handholds that could help a young child to climb it.
Vertical fence slats should be less than 4 inches apart to prevent a child from squeezing through.
Use this as a guide when the release mechanism is located less than 54 inches from the bottom of the gate.
If horizontal members are equal to or more than 45 inches apart, vertical spacing shall not exceed 4 inches.
If the fence is chain link, then no part of the diamond-shaped opening should be larger than 1-3/4 inches.
Fence gates should be self-closing and self-latching. The gate should be well maintained to close and latch easily. The latch should be out of a child’s reach.
When the release mechanism of the self-latching device is less than 54 inches from the bottom of the gate, the release mechanism for the gate should be at least 3 inches below the top of the gate on the side facing the pool. Placing the release mechanism at this height prevents a young child from reaching over the top of a gate and releasing the latch. Also, the gate and barrier should have no opening greater than 1/2 inch within 18 inches of the latch release mechanism. This prevents a young child from reaching through the gate and releasing the latch.
There are a wide variety of fencing construction materials available to compliment your house and pool surroundings. Your local fence company or pool enclosure company can provide you with information and assist you in making a selection.
The weak link in the strongest and highest fence is a gate that fails to close and latch completely. For a gate to close completely every time, it must be in proper working order.
Door Alarms
If the house forms one side of the barrier, then doors leading from the house to the pool should be protected with alarms that produce an audible sound when a door is unexpectedly opened.
Install an alarm that can be temporarily turned off by an adult for a single opening of the door by using a keypad or switch that is out of a child’s reach.
Battery and electrically powered alarms are available. The key pad switch can be used by adults who wish to pass through the door without setting off the alarm. It should be placed high on all doors leading from the house to the pool. Affordable and easily installed alarms are available. An alarm signal immediately tells a parent that a door has been opened.
Power Safety Covers
Power safety covers over the pool may be used as an alternative to door alarms. A power safety cover should meet the requirements of the ASTM pool cover standard which addresses labeling requirements and performance. ASTM requires that a cover withstand the weight of two adults and a child to allow a rescue should an individual fall onto the cover. The standard also requires quick removal of water from the cover. A young child can drown in just inches of water.
A power safety cover is a motor powered barrier that can be placed over the water area. Motor-driven covers easily open and close over the pool. When the power safety cover is properly in place over the pool, it provides a high level of safety for children under 5 years old by inhibiting their access to the water.
Above-Ground Pools
Steps and ladders leading from the ground to the pool should be secured and locked, or removed when the pool is not in use.
Rules for Pools
- Instruct babysitters about potential pool hazards to young children and about the use of protective devices, such as door alarms and latches. Emphasize the need for constant supervision.
- Never leave a child unsupervised near a pool. During social gatherings at or near a pool, appoint a “designated watcher” to protect young children from pool accidents. Adults may take turns being the “watcher.” When adults become preoccupied, children are at risk.
– If a child is missing, check the pool first. Seconds count in preventing death or disability. Go to the edge of the pool and scan the entire pool, bottom and surface, as well as the pool area.
– Do not allow a young child in the pool without an adult.
– Do not consider young children to be drownproof because they have had swimming lessons. Children must be watched closely while swimming.
– Do not use flotation devices as a substitute for supervision.
– Learn CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). Babysitters and other caretakers, such as grandparents and older siblings, should also know CPR.
– Keep rescue equipment by the pool. Be sure a telephone is poolside with emergency numbers posted nearby.
– Remove toys from in and around the pool when it is not in use. Toys can attract young children to the pool.
Never prop open the gate to a pool barrier.
NOTE: To obtain detailed barrier recommendations, write CPSC, Pool Barriers, Office of Information & Public Affairs, Washington, DC 20207.
