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Family tried to revive 2-year-old who drowned in pool, Pasco deputies say

 
Published May 25, 2016

SPRING HILL — George Cumbie, just 6, ran into his house Tuesday in a panic.

"Don't let him drown," he told his mother, according to a Pasco sheriff's report.

His 2-year-old brother, Dallton Cumbie, was at the bottom of the family's above-ground pool.

Mother Jacqueline Cumbie ran outside and dove in after her youngest son. When she pulled Dallton from the water, he was gasping for air.

"He couldn't have been under long," the mother told deputies.

An uncle called 911. The operator relayed instruction to someone performing CPR, but it was too late.

The toddler was pronounced dead shortly after 6 p.m. at Bayfront Health Spring Hill, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, about 30 minutes after being pulled from the water.

"It's like a dream," paternal grandfather Alan Cumbie said. "You're just waiting to wake up from it."

The child's parents declined to comment Wednesday.

The day after Dallton's death, the grandfather said his son George Cumbie drove a pick-up through the pool, destroying it.

Dallton became the third 2-year-old to drown in Pasco County in a span of 34 days. Last month, two toddlers died from drowning within two days of each other.

Justice Rea, of New Port Richey, died April 25 from complications from drowning, five days after he wandered into a nearby pond while his mother was sleeping. Clayton Foskey's body was found April 27 in a creek inside the family's Hudson subdivision after an exhaustive search by neighbors and law enforcement.

In those cases, both mothers were arrested May 12 on charges of child neglect with serious injury. There was no indication that Dallton's death was the result of neglect, said sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll. The Sheriff's Office gave this account of Tuesday's drowning:

The brothers were playing outside with Tonka trucks while their mother watched them through a window from inside the family's mobile home off Little Ranch Road. The 6-year-old came inside to tell his mother there was something sharp at the bottom of the pool, and she told him not to play with it.

Five minutes later, the older boy ran back inside to tell his mother his younger brother needed help.

In 2014, "unintentional injuries" were the leading cause of death for U.S. children ages 1-4, according to the latest data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Within that group, drowning topped the list.

"This is a common scenario that we hear over and over again," said Dr. Julie Gilchrist, a researcher with the CDC. "Parents and care givers don't think about what can happen so quickly and so quietly."

The rate at which toddlers drowned in Florida between 2010 and 2014 was nearly three times the national average, CDC statistics show. About 7.3 toddlers ages 1 to 4 drowned in Florida out of every 100,000. The national average was about 2.6.

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That's because Florida has a long swimming season and a plethora of lakes, ponds and backyard pools, Gilchrist said. And it's nearly surrounded by water.

Gilchrist said a child can drown in a matter of seconds, but there are precautions parents can take to minimize that risk. Adding locks and alarms to doors, learning CPR, understanding drowning warning signs, discussing water safety rules with children and teaching children how to float as well as swim can all help to fend off tragedy, she said.

Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco also reminded parents to be constantly aware of the dangers that living near pools and open water poses to children.

"It is critical that parents maintain a high level of vigilance over their kids," he said, "especially if they live near bodies of water."

Contact Hannah Alani at halani@tampabay.com. Follow @hannahalani. Contact Josh Solomon at jsolomon@tampabay.com. Follow @josh_solomon15.