Toddler Airlifted After Fall Into South Jersey Pool: Police

BUENA VISTA, NJ — A toddler was hospitalized after a fall into a South Jersey swimming pool, New Jersey State Police said.

The 3-year-old fell into the pool shortly before 6 p.m. on Aug. 11, a state police spokesperson told Patch. The pool was at a home on Bellavista Avenue in Buena Vista, Atlantic County.

The child was airlifted to a hospital for further treatment, police said. No information about the child's status was available as of Tuesday morning.

Buena Vista does not have its own police department; it is covered by state police.

This is the latest in a string of drownings in New Jersey this summer, across pools, lakes and the ocean.

Fatal drownings involving children are on the rise nationwide, with several reported since Memorial Day here in New Jersey. Just last week, two toddlers drowned in a backyard pool in Bellmawr, Patch previously reported.

In New Jersey, about one in five people who die due to drowning are kids 14 and younger, according to the state's Department of Health. For every child who drowns, another five children are hospitalized for nonfatal submersion injuries.