A Phoenix family is coping with an unimaginable loss after their three-year-old boy, Dominic Salas, drowned in a Peoria swimming pool earlier this month. As reported by FOX 10 Phoenix, Peoria Police responded to a call near 93rd Avenue and Deer Valley Road on February 9, where officers attempted life-saving measures before the child was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Dominic, who was deaf, was described by his uncle TJ Thompson as a joyful child with a fondness for dinosaurs. Running around in his dinosaur slippers making noises, Thompson recalled that "If you could imagine a more happy-go-lucky, excited about life, always smiling – I don't ever really think that I saw him upset – three-year-old, that would be Dominic in a nutshell," Thompson told FOX 10 Phoenix.
Thompson shared with FOX 10 Phoenix that on the day of the accident, he received a frantic call from his mother regarding an incident at the house his sister was housesitting. While some might look for someone to blame, Thompson said, "I think people are going to – in this day and age – want to try to play the blame game, and I don’t think that’s the time for that, whatsoever," emphasizing the swift and tragic nature of drowning incidents.
The boy's family is now arranging a memorial service to honor his brief but meaningful life. Offering advice to other parents, Thompson stressed the importance of water safety: "If you have kids, make sure you get them into some kind of swim lessons, class, things like that. Even the ones that just teach how to avoid a drawing situation, just being able to get to the side of a pool," Thompson explained in the interview obtained by FOX 10 Phoenix. A special thanks was given to Cameo Hunsaker for providing American Sign Language translation in the full video story.
The investigation into the circumstances leading up to the drowning continues, with Peoria Police detectives working to determine how the tragedy occurred, as stated in a report by FOX 10 Phoenix. Police officials have yet to release further details about the incident.
