A four-year-old child was pulled from a residential pool in critical condition Friday afternoon in Chesapeake, after a family member found the child submerged and began life-saving measures before officers and medics arrived. Chesapeake Police say they are still investigating what happened in the 100 block of Goldcrest Drive.
Officers responded to the report of the drowning at approximately 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to WAVY.com. Police said the child was found in the pool by a family member, who immediately began life-saving measures. Officers and medics continued advanced life-saving efforts once they arrived on scene, and the child was then taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. The investigation remains ongoing, and no further details about the child's condition or the circumstances of the incident have been released.
A Painful Echo From Foxgate Quarter
This is not the first time Chesapeake Police have investigated a young child's near-drowning in a family pool. In late April 2025, a 3-year-old child was found unresponsive in a family pool in the 500 block of Foxgate Quarter.
Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU leads Safe Kids Virginia.
Virginia's Toddler Drowning Numbers Are Climbing
The Goldcrest Drive case lands amid a troubling statewide pattern. The Virginia Department of Health reported that 12 children aged 5 and under died in swimming pool drownings across Virginia in 2025, marking a six-year high for early childhood pool fatalities in the state. The commonwealth recorded 473 total drowning deaths across all age groups between 2020 and 2024, per the same agency.
The surge was especially sharp during one stretch last year: between Memorial Day and late June 2025, six children under age 5 died in swimming pool drownings in Virginia, a total that exceeded the full-year toddler pool fatality count for each of the three preceding years, the Virginia Department of Health reported.
The pattern extends beyond state lines. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited by AAP Publications, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 nationwide, with drowning rates for that age group climbing 28% between 2019 and 2022. The CDC recorded 461 deaths among children ages 1 to 4 from drowning in 2022 alone.
What Virginia and Chesapeake Law Requires of Pool Owners
State and local codes set expectations for pool safety barriers, though whether the Goldcrest Drive pool met applicable standards remains an open question.
CPR Can Be Critical After a Drowning
Immediate bystander CPR before emergency personnel arrive can make the difference between life and death.
