Drowning Incident Leaves 4-Year-Old Girl Dead, Another in Critical Condition

A little girl has died and another is fighting for her life after the pair were involved in a drowning incident in a Florida pool, officials said.

The two children were at a birthday party of about 10 kids when they somehow slipped out of their floaties while playing in the shallow end of a swimming pool at an apartment complex in Tampa Saturday, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office said.

The girls, ages 4 and 3, went under and eventually were pulled from the water by adults at the party, including the mother of one of the children who needed medical attention.

“I noticed that everyone was there panicking and the mother was in tears so I just told myself not to panic because I could do something,” resident Addison Vicedo, who was in his apartment when he heard screams from the pool area, told WTSP. 

A former lifeguard trained to perform CPR, Vicedo rushed down to the scene and began working on the 3-year-old girl.

“I noticed that … she did have a pulse and she would make it,” Vicedo said.

She and the 4-year-old girl were taken to Tampa General Hospital. The 4-year-old girl was unable to be saved, while the 3-year-old girl remains in critical condition.

“My prayers go out to both of their families. Especially the one who didn't make it," Vicedo said.

The sheriff’s office is investigating. No charges are expected to be filed.

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