2-year-old South Plainfield boy dies in hospital after being found in a pool

The child was discovered in a backyard pool on Palmer Avenue at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and was on a ventilator. He died on Friday.

May 31, 2024, 5:26 p.m. EDT | Updated May 31, 2024, 5:39 p.m. EDT

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ — The 2-year-old South Plainfield boy who was found unconscious in a backyard swimming pool earlier this week — and had been on a ventilator since the incident — died at a hospital Friday.

The child's death was announced Friday by Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and South Plainfield Police Chief Peter Papa.

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The two-year-old boy was in critical condition for four days after being found in the pool. He succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on Friday. This is a GoFundMe account set up for the child's family.

He was found in the pool last Tuesday, May 28 (the prosecutor originally said this happened on May 25, but that was not correct, she said). At 7:36 p.m. that evening, South Plainfield police received a 911 call reporting that a child was found in a backyard pool, not breathing. This was at a home on Palmer Avenue in South Plainfield.

Upon arrival, police performed CPR on the two-year-old and took him to JFK Hospital in Edison. Due to the severity of his condition, he was then transferred to Jersey Shore Medical Center, where he died on Friday, May 31.

This is the second drowning accident involving a toddler in Middlesex County this week: Last Saturday, May 25, a four-year-old boy drowned in a backyard swimming pool on Georges Road in North Brunswick. Read this story: 4-year-old boy drowns in North Brunswick backyard swimming pool

The South Plainfield incident is being investigated by Detective Craig Magnani of the South Plainfield Police Department, reached at 908-226-7682, or Detective Javier Morillo of the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office, reached at 732 745-8843.

Original patch report: 2-year-old South Plainfield boy clings to life after near-drowning in pool

Announced this week: Middlesex County offers free swimming lessons for all second-graders