Two nonfatal drownings in Habersham County on July Fourth are another jarring reminder of the dangers children face when playing in and around water.
Just after 7:30 Tuesday night, emergency personnel were dispatched to a residence in the Sam Bell Road area outside of Clarkesville. A 911 caller reported a 1-year-old boy jumped into the water and was under for an undetermined amount of time.
That child, who was conscious, was transported by ambulance to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville.
In an earlier call, dispatched at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, a 2-year-old child was taken to the Cornelia Fire Station on Highway 441 after falling into the pool at a Cornelia apartment complex.
Cornelia Police Chief Jonathan Roberts tells Now Habersham the parents immediately removed the child from the water. They took the toddler to the fire station to be checked out.
The child was conscious and was not transported for medical care.
Leading cause of death
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nonfatal drowning occurs when a person survives a drowning incident. Nonfatal drowning has a range of outcomes, from no injuries to very serious injuries such as brain damage or permanent disability.
The CDC reports more children ages 1 to 4 die from drowning than any other cause of death, and drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death after motor vehicle crashes for children ages 5 to 14.
Nearly 80% of people who die from drowning are male, the CDC reports.
On June 17, a 12-year-old Cornelia boy drowned in the designated swimming area at Lake Russell in Mt. Airy.
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