Two toddler boys in Orange County have drowned in pools, in the past week.

The first drowning took place in Rancho Santa Margarita in a community pool. The victim was a 3-year-old boy, Xavier Ergueta. He was pronounced dead a day later at Mission Hospita. Xavier Ergueta was pulled from the Beach Club and Lagoon pool on Avenida de los Fundadores on the Fourth of July.

Witnesses described pool staffers asking all visitors to get out of the pool because a child was missing. The boy was found, and a woman was seeing performing CPR on the boy. Firefighters reported to the scene at around 7:50 p.m. Thursday. An off-duty nurse and an off-duty paramedic assisted the boy before any paramedics arrived. Ergueta was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

The pool has a maximum depth of 4 feet. It is owned and operated by the Rancho Santa Margarita Landscape and Recreation Corp.  The incident is currently under internal investigation. In a news release, the pool stated that all safety procedures and policies were followed. The OC Health Care Agency has inspected the beach club and found no issues. This was the first drowning at the pool in its 26 year history.

Another drowning took place in a Placentia pool, Monday afternoon. A 2-year-old boy was found unconscious in a Placentia pool located in the 500 block of Dartmouth Drive. The boy has been identified as Omar Abo-Shadi. He died later early Tuesday morning. Firefighters and Police responded to the pool at about 1:45 p.m., Monday.

The boy was not breathing when the firefighters arrived at the scene. He was able to regain heartbeat and a pulse after he was brought to St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton. Omar Abo-Shadi was placed on a respirator and taken to Children’s Hospital of Orange County. He was pronounced dead early Tuesday morning. Investigators are still trying to determine if the drowning was an accident.

These unfortunate accidents took the lives of two innocent little boys. Pool safety is a serious issue for Orange County residents. We are lucky enough that the weather is usually good enough for pool time year around. It is important that we educate ourselves about pool safety.

Here are some important pool safety tips:

• Never leave a child unattended near water. There must always be an adult supervising.
• Become certified in CPR. You may never know when it may come in handy.
• When you are supervising children, keep a phone by the pool. This way you never have to leave the pool to answer the phone.
• Put away tools in and around the pool.
• Make sure your children know how to swim. Teach them about pool safety.
• Remember, children who are expert swimmers are still at risk of drowning.

If someone you love was ever injured due to another individual’s negligence, contact a Placentia personal injury lawyer.