JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 3-year-old child was pronounced dead after he was taken to a local hospital Thursday afternoon, after drowning in a pool near Mandarin.
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department said the child was rushed to a hospital from the 3100 block of Cornelia Drive in Jacksonville's Pickwick Park area, which is near Mandarin. The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is working with the family to find out what happened. The pool does have a protective barrier around it, JSO said. There was another sibling at the residence.
The father had to go inside with one of the siblings, and the drowning victim got through the gate, Sgt. Steve Rudlaff said.
Rudlaff said the time between the father going inside and the child drowning "wasn't long at all."