Naperville Cop, Man Save Toddler From Pool

NAPERVILLE (STMW) -- A veteran Naperville police officer and an unidentified man are being credited with administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation and saving the life of a 4-year-old boy who was pulled unconscious from an apartment complex swimming pool.

"This was a tragedy narrowly averted by the prompt actions of an involved neighbor and a trained police officer," Naperville police Sgt. Tim Jordan said late Wednesday night of the incident at the Brittany Springs Apartments in the far west-central part of the city.

Officer James Tanksley, who has been with the department for 15 years, and a resident of the apartment complex revived the toddler, who became stricken while swimming in the indoor pool with an older brother and sister.

Naperville Fire Department paramedics and police responded to the complex's clubhouse, 2504 Bordeaux Lane, following a 911 call at 6:47 p.m. Wednesday that initially reported a drowning there.

Jordan said the boy had gone to the pool in the company of his 8-year-old sister, his 5-year-old brother and one of the children's grandmothers. The children, clad in swimsuits, entered the pool with the grandmother watching over them, Jordan said.

The 4-year-old "was apparently holding on to the [pool's] ladder because he's not that strong a swimmer," Jordan said. His sister a short time later "saw him floating face down in the water and got him out" with the help of the grandmother.

Jordan said the girl then "ran to a home across the parking lot and said [her brother] had drowned," Jordan said. A woman there called 911 while her fiance "ran over to the pool to render whatever aid he could" to the by then-unconscious boy, Jordan said.

Tanksley at the time was driving on routine patrol and was the first emergency worker on the scene, arriving at the clubhouse within 3 1/2 minutes of the 911 call, Jordan said. Tanksley "assisted with two-rescuer CPR, and the boy was breathing on his own before paramedics arrived at the scene," he said.

The boy was taken by ambulance to the emergency room of Edward Hospital in Naperville. His condition was not known.

Edward Hospital spokesman Keith Hartenberger early Thursday morning would neither confirm nor deny the boy had been admitted, citing federal privacy laws.

Jordan said Brittany Springs' management apparently does not staff the pool with a lifeguard.

The identity of the civilian rescuer was not immediately known. Jordan added Tanksley had not wanted to be publicly identified, insisting he had merely done his duty as a police officer.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)