String of toddler drownings in Mo. put spotlight on water, pool safety

WARRENTON, Mo. -- The drownings of two toddlers in a family swimming pool prompted officials on Friday to stress the importance of constant vigilance and safety measures around water.

Two brothers, Charles and Brandon Kindlesparger, ages 3 and 2, died Thursday afternoon in Warrenton, about 60 miles northwest of St. Louis. Police Chief Patrick Harney said the boys were at a grandparent's house where two adults and another juvenile were present when the boys died. An investigation continues into who was supposed to be watching them.

The deaths came just weeks after another child, 2-year-old Cruz Philipp of House Springs, Mo., drowned in a wading pool near Festus, Mo., as his uncle and aunt were babysitting. He was wearing flotation devices but tipped over in the water, authorities said.

A pediatric emergency room physician, Steven Laffey at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center, said drowning is the second leading cause of injury-related death in children ages 1 to 14. Motor vehicle accidents are No. 1.

Generally, "these kids are not unsupervised," he said. "Most of the time they were last seen in the house, out of sight less than five minutes and in the care of one or more parents."

A child can drown in just a few inches of water. Small children can topple into buckets or toilets, and don't have the ability to get out, Laffey said. They should never be left alone in the bathtub.

In yards with pools, fences and gates shouldn't just be around the yard, but around the pool, so a child can't get to it without an adult providing access. Alarms that sound if something falls in the water can be helpful.

Sometimes, when several adults are supervising children, it can turn out no one is, as each adult assumes another is watching. Laffey said an adult should be designated to watch children in the pool. For a pool party with many children, he suggests hiring a lifeguard.

Laffey said it's important to keep toys out of the water so they don't attract children to try to reach for them, and to be careful about pool covers. Sometimes, children wander onto them and can drown in water collected on top, or slip below the surface. A solid pool cover -- though more expensive -- is best, he said.

Warren County Coroner Roger Mauzy, who responded to the Warrenton drownings in his other job as paramedic, said his heart went out to the family that lost the children.

A medical helicopter had been on standby to fly the boys to St. Louis hospitals. Both boys, he said, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Mauzy said the St. Louis County medical examiner's office conducted autopsies on the boys, whose deaths were initially classified as drownings. Results are not expected for several weeks.

A child death review board, which convenes whenever a child dies, was also looking into the deaths.

"If you've got little ones and a pool, be cognizant and stay with them," Mauzy said. "It doesn't take but a split second for a child to die."