After inspection, Department of Health closes Little Rock pool where toddler drowned

The pool where a Little Rock toddler drowned Tuesday was closed by the Arkansas Department of Health on Wednesday, according to agency reports.

The pool at Spanish Rock Apartments at 11401 Mesa Drive was closed Tuesday when a 3-year-old managed to get in, the agency said.

The child’s mother told officers that her son had been in their apartment, which is near the pool, with her and that she did not know he had left until someone told her, a police report states.

Officers arrived about 6:20 p.m. Tuesday to the complex, where the Little Rock Fire Department was already on scene performing CPR.

Officers called MEMS, who transported the child to Baptist Health Medical Center’s emergency room. Officers noted that medical personnel at the hospital tried to revive the toddler, but he was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m.

The Arkansas Department of Health inspected the pool Wednesday and found it to be out of code in several areas, including a broken self-latch on the gate closest to the complex's office, a ladder detached from the bottom of the pool’s wall and damage to multiple areas of the pool’s fencing.

The agency’s published rules pertaining to swimming pools state that fencing surrounding pools must not have spaces greater than 4 inches horizontally and that the fence must be at least 4 inches off the ground at any given time.

The report also noted that the apartment complex did not keep daily records of pool operational records and accidents, as mandated by the rules.

The report said the pool had been closed Sunday by management staff, though a reason for the closure was not stated. Misty Steuart, spokesman for Trinity Multifamily, which manages the apartment complex, said the pool had been closed due to weather disrupting the pool's chemical levels.

The department closed the pool Wednesday until the facility was again in compliance with the agency’s mandates.

The report in no way linked these inspection results to the child’s death. Department spokesman Meg Mirivel said the department only regulates and inspects the pools and will not investigate the child’s death.

The health department had cleared the pool for opening in May and noted no breakages in the fence or gates, according to the inspection report.

Employees of Spanish Rock Apartments were advised not to speak with media, though the complex’s management company, Trinity Property Management, released a statement saying it was not yet sure of the details of the drowning but that "the child was able to make it over the fence and in to the pool after hours. CPR was performed by both the person that jumped the fence and found him, as well as by one of our staff members that also jumped the fence to assist."

Information for this story was contributed by Maggie McNeary of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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