Death of 5-year-old girl pulled from Midlands pool under investigation, SC coroner says
The death of a 5-year-old girl at a South Carolina hotel is being investigated, the Sumter County coroner said Tuesday.
The child died Saturday night after she was unresponsive when she was pulled from a swimming pool at a party, Coroner Robbie Baker said in an interview with The State.
An autopsy was performed on the little girl Tuesday at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, but Baker said a cause of death will not be determined until he receives the results of toxicology tests.
The coroner did not rule out drowning as a potential cause of death, saying it was “a good possibility.” But Baker told The State that the child’s family said the girl was on top of the water, not underwater, when someone saw her struggling in the pool and pulled her out shortly after 6 p.m.
CPR was performed on the 5-year-old before EMS took her from the Econo Lodge, where the party was being held, to a nearby hospital, according to the coroner. That was where the child was pronounced dead around 7:15 p.m., Baker said.
“It’s a sad, sad situation,” Baker said.
While the coroner awaits toxicology tests, he said the Sumter Police Department is also investigating the child’s death, something it confirmed in a news release. Baker said police are examining video surveillance footage from the swimming pool.
Although Baker said there were “no signs of foul play,” he did not rule out the possibility of criminal charges in the girl’s death. He said that’s a possibility in any death, “especially when it’s a child.”
The coroner also said after looking at the child’s prior medical records, he did not see anything that stuck out and that she seemed to be a “perfectly healthy young lady, from what I understand.”
The death remains under investigation.
This story was originally published June 4, 2019 at 8:44 PM with the headline "Death of 5-year-old girl pulled from Midlands pool under investigation, SC coroner says."
