1-year-old nearly drowned due to broken pool gate

The family of the toddler who nearly drowned in his apartment’s pool in Sanford is calling for property managers to be more careful about child safety.On Wednesday, a mom spoke at a news conference about her 1-year-old son’s close call.Emerald Henderson said she closed her eyes for a moment on May 17 while at Lake Jennie Apartments in Sanford, where her family lives.She says her 1-year-old son Noah snuck out of the house when her 12-year-old son walked out the door and then through an unlocked gate at the pool.Noah got in the water and almost drowned, but another child got an adult to pull him out, and a resident did CPR on him until paramedics arrived.”Noah was able to gain access to the pool through the complex’s broken pool gate. Losing oxygen to his brain and unable to breathe, Noah inched closer to death. No one from Lake Jennie was watching the pool, and not only were the cameras not monitored, but they were broken,” a news release states.His family said doctors told them he should make a full recovery. Michael Haggard and Adam Finkel of The Haggard Law Firm, along with attorney Kevin Edwards of Edwards Injury Law, sued Leland Enterprises for failing to properly secure the pool, arguing that the pool’s condition violated necessary codes and suggested industry standards.The family recently settled the case for $2 million. They say the complex also agreed to fix the broken pool gate.”I beg you to make sure that pool safety and having child safety locks on pools, it’s something I wouldn’t want any parent to experience. I just ask that all complexes, homeowners anyone, to have safety for children with pools,” Henderson said.

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