9-Month-Old Tulsan In Critical Condition After Nearly Drowning

By Jeffrey Smith, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- A nine-month-old baby is in critical condition at a Tulsa hospital after being found in a bathtub at an apartment complex.

The incident occurred at about 10:00 Wednesday morning at the Yacht Club Apartments near 51st and Yale.

Police say the child's mother was in the kitchen of her apartment at the time doing dishes. They say a 19-month-old child and the 9-month-old child were both in the tub in the bathroom. Fire officials say the nine-month-old nearly drowned.

Emergency responders say while it’s certainly not uncommon for parents to leave young children alone for a few minutes, it’s something that should never happen.

“My guys were pretty shook up that were responding,” said Bill French, Tulsa Fire Dept.

The mother carried the 9-month-old to the apartment management office, about 60 feet away.

“Immediate attempts for resuscitation at the scene were not successful in reviving the child,” said Bill French.

Paramedics eventually got a pulse and the baby arrived at St. Francis in critical condition. Emergency responders say the mom told them she was in the bathroom with her kids, but left them for a short time to run to the kitchen.

“I would think it would be out of the ordinary to begin with to leave two young infants alone. I'm sure parents do it all the time, it’s just unfortunate that in this incident it resulted in the injury of a child,” said Cpl. Joe Campbell, Tulsa Police.

Officers say even a near downing is a tragedy, and want to remind parents that young children need to be supervised at all times.

Homicide detectives searched through that apartment. They say that's normal procedure, and say the investigation is still ongoing.

The baby remains in critical condition.