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A teenage male is in critical but stable condition after he nearly drowned at the Roosevelt Park Pool on Wednesday.
Police officers and medical personnel were called to the pool about 12:30 p.m. for a water rescue and located several teens before pulling a young man out of the water who was face down in the 8-foot end of the pool, Acting Fire Chief Dante Stewart said during a press conference.
CPR and other life-saving measures were performed before he was taken to an area hospital for treatment, he said.
“This is something that could have been totally avoidable. A young man is in critical condition fighting for his life, because he made a bad decision,” Mayor Brandon Scott said, adding that residents should enjoy the pools while they are open and a lifeguard is on duty.
“We have to swim responsibly. There’s no excuse now. It used to be that you had to pay $1 to get into the pools and folks said ‘We can‘t afford it.’ Well now it’s free, free. And you can do it safe[ly] with lifeguards,” Scott added.
Last year, in July, a 15-year-old boy was hospitalized after he nearly drowned at the same pool while swimming after hours. His 17-year-old friend pulled him to safety, according to a report from WMAR.
Four pools run by Department of Recreation and Parks are currently on a Saturday-Sunday schedule: Druid Hill, Lake Clifton, Riverside and Roosevelt Park.
Starting June 15, park pools (Druid Hill, Cherry Hill Splash, Lake Clifton, Riverside and Roosevelt Park) will move to a seven-day schedule until Sept. 4, and local pools (Baybrook, CC. Jackson, Liberty, O’Donnell, McAbee and Oliver) will operate a Monday-Saturday schedule until Aug. 20.
There is no indication of how the teens entered the pool site, officials said. Baltimore Police are continuing to investigate the incident.
Baltimore City Recreation and Parks Executive Director Reginald Moore said his office has been talking to young people for about two weeks asking them to not to jump the fence to swim at city pools during off-hours. He said the Roosevelt Park Pool was securely locked.
“If you walk to a pool, and it is outside of our normal operating hours, encourage your friends, as well as yourself, to not go into the the pool,” Moore said. “Wait until tomorrow when it opens.”
penelope.blackwell@thebaltimorebanner.com
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Penelope Blackwell is a Breaking News reporter with The Banner. Previously, she covered local government in Durham, NC, for The News & Observer. She received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Morgan State University and her master’s in journalism from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
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