A quiet Thursday evening at a Plantation apartment complex turned into a family’s worst nightmare when a 2-year-old boy was pulled from a nearby pond and later died at the hospital, according to relatives and first responders.
Family members, neighbors and emergency crews tried desperately to save the child, performing CPR at the scene before he was rushed to a hospital, but he did not survive.
According to CBS News Miami, the boy's grandmother called 911 at about 5:30 p.m. A dispatcher later noted there was roughly a 10 to 15 minute delay between when the call came in and when units were notified. The dispatcher also described the child as non-verbal and known to gravitate toward water.
A family member found the toddler in a pond near the complex in the area of 16th Street and 108th Avenue, CBS News Miami reported. Bystanders immediately began CPR while telling dispatchers that water was coming from the boy's mouth. Plantation Fire Rescue took him to Broward Health Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.
"I have two kids, so it breaks my heart," neighbor Erwin Garcia told CBS News Miami, summing up the mood across the complex as word of the drowning spread.
How This Fits Into State Trends
Unintentional drowning remains a serious danger for young children in Florida. State data show the rate of deaths from unintentional drowning among those 17 and younger increased from about 1.9 per 100,000 in 2020 to roughly 2.3 per 100,000 in 2024, according to Florida Health CHARTS.
Public health experts caution that no single tactic is enough. The most effective approach relies on multiple layers of protection, including barriers that block access to water, constant adult supervision and age-appropriate swim lessons, according to a policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Plantation Police Response
Plantation authorities have opened an investigation into the child's death and say more information will be released as it becomes available.
Residents who may have information, surveillance footage or other details that could help are asked to contact the Plantation Police Department at (954) 797-2100.
Broward Health Medical Center, where the boy was treated, is located at 1600 S Andrews Ave in Fort Lauderdale, according to Broward Health.
Neighbors React
Neighbors described the complex as shaken and unusually quiet in the hours after the boy's death. Several residents urged families to take extra care around ponds and retention basins that sit just steps from walkways and parking lots, especially when toddlers are nearby.
Officials and child-safety advocates continue to stress the basics: close supervision whenever kids are near water, physical barriers such as fences or locked gates, and early swim-skill training. Those precautions, they say, are the strongest defense against tragedies like the one unfolding in Plantation, even as investigators work to piece together exactly what happened.
