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Chilling Details of New Canaan Boy’s Drowning Emerge in Arrest Warrant Application

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The 5-year-old New Canaan boy who nearly died after drowning last month at Chelsea Piers in Stamford struggled visibly at the surface of the pool as he drifted toward its deep end, flailing his arms, sinking and pushing off of the bottom to take a final breath before sinking again and losing consciousness, according to a Stamford Police Department arrest warrant application. Surveillance video also shows that a lifeguard—charged last week in connection with the incident—though he walked past that area of the pool twice, failed both times to look toward the water where the unconscious boy’s body was submerged, according to surveillance video cited in the application by Officer Christopher Friel of the Stamford Police Department’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation-Crimes Against Persons Unit. Zachary Stein, 23, of New Canaan, was charged Sept. 7 with risk of injury to a minor, a felony offense, as well as first-degree reckless endangerment. Under state law, a person is guilty of risk of injury if he or she “willfully or unlawfully causes or permits any child under the age of sixteen years to be placed in such a situation that the life or limb of such child is endangered, the health of such child is likely to be injured,” among other circumstances.

News

New Canaan Man, 23, Charged in Connection with Nonfatal Drowning of Young Boy at Chelsea Piers: Report

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A 23-year-old New Canaan man faces a felony charge as a lifeguard responsible for overseeing a pool at Chelsea Piers in Stamford where a local boy drowned last month and nearly died as a result, according to The Advocate. The Stamford newspaper reports that Zachary Stein of New Canaan has been charged with risk of injury to a minor as well as reckless endangerment. On Aug. 3, the 5-year-old boy remained underwater for about four minutes before Stein spotted him, pulled him out of the water and, together with another lifeguard, performed CPR, according to The Advocate. Miraculously, the New Canaan boy recovered after spending four days at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, officials have said.

Around Town
Cards for Adam near drowning Chelsea Piers 08-08-17

Get Well Cards Pouring in for Five-Year-Old New Canaan Boy Who Nearly Drowned

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Adam, the five-year-old New Canaan boy who had to be resuscitated Thursday when he went under water in a swimming pool for four minutes, then made a dramatic recovery over the weekend, is getting get well cards from the community. “The family is very appreciative of all the love and support,” said Allyson Mahoney, a New Canaan resident who organized a way to get the cards to the boy. Mahoney set up a box at New Canaan Library, where get-well cards can be dropped off until noon on Friday. “He’s doing really well,” Mahoney said of the boy, who’s family at this time prefers to remain private. “It was a fantastic recovery.”

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Report: ‘Miracle’ Recovery for 5-Year-Old New Canaan Boy Nearly Drowned in Pool

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The five-year-old New Canaan boy who was nearly drowned in a pool in Stamford has recovered well enough to be released from Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital after his condition took a dramatic turn for the better over the weekend, according to a news report. The boy was water for four minutes early Thursday afternoon before he was rescued in a relatively shallow pool at the Chelsea Piers sports complex in Stamford, according to reports in the Stamford Advocate. After a 23-year-old lifeguard on the scene pulled the boy from the water, Chelsea Piers staff and medics administered three rounds of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (“CPR”) to get him breathing again, according to a report on Monday. The child had been taken by helicopter to the New Haven hospital Friday while he was in dire condition, but not before the helicopter flight had been held up when the boy went into a seizure, reports said. Police had originally said he was under water for three minutes, but they later saw a video recording showing it was four minutes, according to reports.

Public Safety
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UPDATE: New Canaan Boy, 5, Remains in Intensive Care After Near Drowning in Stamford

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Update 6:24 p.m., Friday:

A five-year-old New Canaan boy who nearly drowned in Stamford Thursday was in “critically stable” condition Friday in the intensive care unit of Yale New Haven Hospital, according to a report. According to an article in the Stamford Advocate, citing Stamford police:

The boy was pulled from a 37-by-22-foot shallow pool at Chelsea Piers by a 23-year-old lifeguard after spending about three minutes under water. The boy was heavily medicated and doctors are now beginning to lessen the amount of medication. His helicopter trip to the New Haven hospital was delayed when he went into seizures. Police are reviewing a video recording from Chelsea Piers.