4-year-old drowns in backyard pool

LEE COUNTY, Fla – Deputies responded to a drowning in the Buckingham area around 11 a.m. Sunday.

It happened at a home in the 6800 block of Circle Drive.

Parents of Gil’vonne Rivera-Roman told WINK News the 4-year-old used a lawn chair to jump over the pool fence to get a ball.

The boy’s stepmother said the father pulled the boy out of the water and took him to a neighbor’s house, who is a retired Coast Guard member.

The 4-year-old was taken to the hospital but later died.

This the third child to drown in a backyard pool this month.

“In any case like this, this just highlights the tragedies that can occur. And we encourage parents to watch their children in and around water, whether that be at the pool, at the beach, or the Caloosahatchee River,” said Lt. Scott Lineberger. “Wherever they are, just pay attention to your kids. It only takes a second for a tragedy to occur.”