Police: 4-year-old drowns in backyard pool in East Brunswick

A 4-year-old boy drowned in a backyard pool in East Brunswick, according to police. He is the fourth person to drown in the town in less than a month and the fifth drowning this year.

News 12 Staff

Jul 6, 2020, 8:51 PM

Updated 1,550 days ago

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A 4-year-old boy drowned in a backyard pool in East Brunswick, according to police. He is the fourth person to drown in the town in less than a month and the fifth drowning this year.
East Brunswick police say that the boy drowned during a party at a home on Sandalwood Drive on July 4 during a kindergarten graduation party.
Authorities say that adults were present at the party, but that no one saw the child go under the water until it was too late. When it was noticed that the child went missing, they found him in the pool and immediately called 911. The child was rushed to the hospital but died the next day.
Police say that the child was a guest and did not live at the home. They say that the death is not suspicious.
This is the second drowning incident in East Brunswick within a month. Three family members drowned in a pool on Clearview Road on June 22. An 8-year-old girl was struggling in the pool and her mother and grandfather went in to help. None of them knew how to swim and drowned, according to authorities.
And a 13-year-old boy drowned in January when he fell through a frozen pond.
Chief Frank LoSacco once served on the town fire department’s water rescue team. He says that it is time to educate the public on water dangers.
“If it’s a pool, be familiar with the debts, because it can be deceiving,” he says. “You should know your strength and your ability to swim and self-rescue, because if you’re not a strong enough swimmer, you should have supplemental devices.”
LoSacco also say that if there are children swimming, adults should always be watching.
He says that they often educate and instruct the public about water safety but hopes to team his community response and fishing units with the municipal pool to get the message out about water safety.