Boy Hospitalized After Nearly Drowning Hayden Lake Youngster In Critical Condition After Falling In Pool

A 2-1/2-year-old Hayden Lake boy was rushed to the hospital Wednesday after his mother and aunt found him floating face-down in a swimming pool.

Austin Ronald Martin Wright was listed in critical condition late Wednesday night at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.

The swimming pool at Wright’s home on 1175 Whispering Pines Lane is fenced in, said Kootenai County sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger.

Several older children had been playing in the pool earlier in the day, according to a sheriff’s report.

However, the children forgot to latch the gate leading into the pool area when they left.

The toddler, who had been playing in the yard, apparently wandered through the gate and fell into the water about 2:10 p.m., according to the sheriff’s report.

“These kids were playing outside. (The adults) looked out one minute and they were there, they looked out again and they weren’t,” Wolfinger said.

The boy may have been in the water for five minutes or more. His mother, Robin K. Wright, and his aunt, Karen D. McIntyre, found him floating in the pool, according to the sheriff’s report.

The boy was taken to Kootenai Medical Center and then was flown to the Spokane hospital.

“These people certainly weren’t neglectful,” Capt. Wolfinger said. “They say the gate is always latched. You know how kids are, they just ran out and didn’t make sure it was latched. These people tried to do everything they could.”

With the heat making it prime swimming time, Wolfinger encouraged adults to make sure their pools are fenced so that youngsters who don’t know how to swim can’t get near them. Gates with an automatic spring closing mechanism also are a good idea, he said.

, DataTimes