The boy had turned blue after being on the bottom for minutes, but South Brunswick Police officers got him breathing again administering CPR.
South Brunswick Police officers using CPR were able to revive a 3-year-old boy who had sunk to the bottom of a pool during a party Saturday night. SOUTH BRUNSWICK -- Police said a toddler who had turned blue after sinking to the bottom of a swimming pool during a party Saturday night was revived by responding officers who administered CPR.
Witnesses at the party on Whispering Woods Boulevard in South Brunswick told police the 3-year-old boy had been on or clutching a flotation device in the pool and evidently lost his grip on it, then sank to the bottom, said Capt. Jim Ryan of the South Brunswick Police Department.
It was about 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, when Ryan said one of the two dozen guests at the party spotted the boy at the bottom of the pool, at a depth of five feet, and pulled him out.
Police were called and someone had begun administering CPR when Officers George Morgan and Jared Harpster arrived at the house "within minutes," Ryan said. Morgan, a 3-year police veteran, and Harpster, a rookie on the job just two months, took over and were able to get the boy breathing again, Ryan said.
Chief Raymond Hayducka credited the officers as well as the party guest for saving the boy.
"The bystander's quick efforts to revive the child and the officers rapid response and intervention saved this child's life," Hayducka said in a statement.
EMT's took the boy to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he was listed in fair condition on Saturday night, Ryan said.
Ryan said the boy's father, who lives in North Brunswick, was spending the weekend with his son, who lives in East Brunswick, and had taken him to the party in South Brunswick. Ryan said the father distraught over the incident, according to the officers, but that it was unclear just where the father was at the time the boy slipped below the surface or whether anyone was supposed to be watching him.
"There was some confusion by all th people about what happened," said Ryan, who did not know what the occasion was for the party. "When people are gathering at these parties, they're celebrating. But somebody's always got to be watching out for he children."
Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.