Boy, 5, nearly drowns at Brooklyn pool, rescuer questions response

WILLIAMSBURG, Brooklyn (PIX11) — A 5-year-old boy was saved after nearly drowning in McCarren Park’s public pool in Williamsburg on Sunday evening, a tragedy narrowly averted as the city faces a shortage of lifeguards.

After the boy went under, a good Samaritan dove into the pool, pulled the child to the surface, and assisted with CPR until first responders arrived, according to his accounts to multiple outlets, including the New York Daily News. The man claimed that during the frightening sequence of events, Parks Department lifeguards stood by.

“From the time I brought him up to the surface and out onto the ledge still not one lifeguard had come to aid,” Anthony Torres, 37, told the Daily News. “I put the boy on the ledge of the pool and he was just expelling water and mucus.”

But the Parks Department on Monday disputed that account, saying that multiple on-duty lifeguards rushed to the boy’s aid.

“Two NYC Parks lifeguards ran to aid the child and administered CPR responsive to a patron’s cries for help after they removed the child from the water,” a department spokesperson said in a statement.

Sources told PIX11 News the lifeguards had to run from across the pool to reach the child, while two other lifeguards remained in their chairs to continue monitoring other swimmers. The NYPD launched an investigation.

The incident unfolded on the sixth day of a heat wave that gripped the Big Apple, as New Yorkers across the city flocked to public pools in an attempt to cool off.

It also came amid lifeguard shortages at the city, state, and national levels, despite efforts to boost numbers through temporary pay hikes. As of June 25, the city Parks Department had 658 certified lifeguards on staff. The agency aims to have about 1,500 lifeguards working at the city’s pools and beaches, a spokeswoman said at the time. The Parks Department on Monday was expected to release an update on how many lifeguards are now on staff.