Heroics at a nieghborhood pool saved a child's life

Heroics at a neighborhood pool averted a tragedy. A 3-year old girl was taken to Children's Mercy Wednesday afternoon after nearly drowning in a Leewood pool. The pool was located on West 124th st, near El monte; just a few blocks east of Roe Avenue. An afternoon of fun in the sun took a quick turn as the 3-year old sank to the bottom of the pool. While adults were at play in the shallow end, to include the girls mother, a floaty fell off the girls arm causing her to sink.

Within moments, various adults jumped in the pool and pulled the little girl out of the water. Michele Lillis stated she knew CPR and immediately began performing it on the girl. Within a short period of time, the girl had coughed up water and began crying, breathing. Lillis’ 9 - year old daughter was proud of her mother’s actions. The entire incident happened in a matter of moments.

While the pool has regular attendees, none are trained as lifeguards. There are pools like this all over the country, small neighborhood pools with little to no supervision. Thanks to the quick thinking of patrons, this time turned out ok, as the girl was only taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. Dangerous areas, such as pools, have a duty to its patrons to provide a safe environment. Premises liability laws have not quit settled on the amount of liability on the shoulders of the owners of the pool. Whether the swimming pool is above ground or a neighborhood watering hole, there needs to be some responsibility for the safety of the swimmers.