Pool Incident Proves Fatal to Girl, 2
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ORANGE — A 2-year-old girl who slipped out of a flotation device while swimming in a pool Wednesday died Thursday at a local hospital, a coroner’s official said.
Laurie-Ann L. Franks was visiting her grandparents’ home in the 600 block of East Gates Street and was swimming with other children under adult supervision about 6:50 p.m. Wednesday, Deputy Coroner Cullen Ellingburgh said.
The girl had water wings on her arms, but all of a sudden her parents saw the “swimming devices with no child in them,” Ellingburgh said. “They found her floating face down in the pool.”
Laurie-Ann was pronounced dead at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Children’s Hospital of Orange County in Orange.
“It’s so important for parents to be aware that these things happen so quickly,” Ellingburgh said. “It was a matter of minutes from when she slipped out of those water wings to when they found her floating.”
Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children 4 years old and younger, according to a county study released in April.
Laurie-Ann’s death was the 10th drowning of a child this year in Orange County.
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