UPDATE 5/2/2021: On May 1, 2021 at 5:58 p.m., Charles County Emergency Services (911) received calls regarding multiple drowning victims in a pool at a residence in the 1200 block of Jefferson Lane in Waldorf.
A Fire Unit from Station 3 in Waldorf with four personnel were the first to arrive on the scene. They observed three victims at the bottom of the pool and immediately jumped in to rescue them. All three victims were removed from the water and CPR was initiated by Fire/EMS and a police officer. The victims were transported to the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center where two of the victims, a 7-year-old girl and her 44-year-old father, were pronounced deceased. The third victim, a 17-year-old male, was flown to Children’s Hospital Center in critical condition. Two firefighters were injured during the water rescue and were transported to the hospital, treated and later released.
The initial investigation revealed the homeowners were hosting a birthday party. The victims were among the guests. During the party, the seven-year-old girl jumped into an in-ground pool, which was uncovered and open. According to family, she did not know how to swim. Her father quickly jumped in to rescue her, but he was unable to swim. A seventeen-year-old male who was at the party observed what was happening and jumped in to help. All three victims took on too much water and drowned.
Detectives are in the process of positively identifying the child’s name. Her father has been identified as Haffis Olanrewaju Agboola of Hyattsville.
The 17-year-old is not being identified at this time.
The investigation is continuing.
UPDATE 5/2/2021: The Charles County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident.
Preliminary investigation revealed a party was being held at the residence when the 7-year-old female victim fell, or jumped into the pool.
The second victim, the father of the child, a 45-year-old male, along with the third victim, a 17-year-old male jumped into the pool to save the child.
All three victims drowned. Fire and rescue personnel arrived on the scene in minutes and removed four victims from the pool.
The 7-year-old female, 17-year-old male, and 45-year-old male were all transported to an area hospital with CPR in progress. Two helicopters responded, however, it is unknown if the victims were transferred to another facility.
The fourth male who jumped into the pool denied any injuries, and did not require medical attention or transportation.
Two firefighters from the Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department were transported from the scene to an area hospital with unknown injuries.
We will provide updates when they are provided by the Charles County Sheriff’s Office.
5/1/2021: On Saturday, May 1, 2021, at approximately 6:00 p.m., police, fire and rescue personnel responded to the 1200 block of Jefferson Lane in Waldorf, for the report of multiple victims drowning in a pool.
Crews arrived on the scene and reported they removed two children and one adult from the pool and CPR was being preformed on all three patients.
First arriving Officers received information stating a 7-year-old female was drowning in the pool, when a 17-year-old male, and a 45-year-old male jumped in to save her.
Emergency medical personnel transported the three drowning victims to area hospitals with life-threatening injuries. At least one helicopter was requested to meet medical personnel at the hospital.
Two firefighters that arrived on the scene with Squad 3 from the Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department were transported to an area hospital with unknown injuries, they were reported as non-life-threatening.
The incident is under investigation, and updates will be provided when they become available.
What is a Drowning:
Drowning is defined as “the PROCESS of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion/immersion in a liquid. If someone has difficulty breathing as a result of being underwater, then they have drowned.” Why is a definition so important you may ask?
The means drowning is a process that is NOT always fatal, just like strokes and heart attacks do not always end in death. People survive heart attacks and strokes often, but occasionally they have complications. The same is true for drowning. Thousands of people survive drowning with no complications and sometimes they may have various degrees of brain damage from oxygen deprivation.
