Drownings Becoming More Frequent In Indiana

By Mike Perleberg (Undated) – Drownings are occurring in Indiana at an alarming rate in this still-early summer season. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources reports that 28 people have drowned so far in 2014. Nearly half of the victims – 12 to be exact – were age 18 or younger. “Sadly, we lose children each year because they don’t understand the dangers associated with water,” said Mary Beth Bonaventura, director, Indiana Department of Child Services. “It’s up to parents to teach them to have a healthy respect for the water and watch over them to ensure their safety.” The growing 2014 figures are on pace to be far ahead of recent years. In all of 2013, there were 29 drowning deaths with three of them children. In 2012, eight children died by drowning. Southeast Indiana has certainly had its share of water-related tragedies so far this year. Twin-two-year-old girls drowned in a neighbor’s water-filled pool cover on April 8 after sneaking out of their home on Dutch Hollow Road in Aurora. About a week earlier, another Dutch Hollow Road resident, Peggy Dean, had drowned in a pond on April 2. The 57-year-old with reported mental illness had wandered away from her nearby home. Nineteen-year-old Thomas Herring, of Sunman, drowned after presumably swimming into a neighbor’s pond on April 30. Conservation officers said Herring was not believed to be a particularly strong swimmer. The Indiana Department of Child Services and DNR are asking parents to help make water safety a priority this summer by ensuring that both adults and children have the knowledge, skills and equipment they need to be safe in and around water. For all ages, just learning to swim is no a successful way to prevent drowning, says IDNR Boating Law Administrator Lt. Kenton Turner, adding that the use of a properly fitted life jacket is the only proven method that is certain to reduce the number of drownings. “When done with proper supervision in the proper places, swimming can be a safe and healthy recreational activity for kids,” said Bonaventura. “But since children generally don’t have an awareness of the risks around water, it’s up to the adults who care for them to help keep them safe.” Southeast Indiana nearly had its fifth drowning death of the year on Brookville Lake the afternoon of June 15. In that situation, a man without a lifejacket fell off of his small sailboat and was struggling in the water when an Indiana Conservation Officer on patrol spotted him and pulled him to safety. DCS and DNR officials offer the following tips to help keep children safe around water this summer:

• Supervision – Someone should always be actively watching children when they are in the pool. This means don’t play around on your phone or get involved in a lengthy conversation while watching the kids. Drowning can happen in just a few minutes. Designate a “water watcher” to keep an eye on swimmers. • Barriers – A child should never be able to enter a pool area unaccompanied by an adult. Barriers include child-proof locks on all doors, a pool fence with self-latching and self-closing gates, as well as door and pool alarms. Pool covers may also be used but make sure it is a professional cover fitted for your pool. A simple canvas covering can be a drowning hazard and entrap a child in the water. • Swimming lessons – Children ages 4 and older should learn to swim in order to help prevent drowning. Even kids as young as 2 will benefit from taking a parent and child water orientation class. Caregivers should learn to swim as well. • Lifeguards – Swimming should only be allowed in areas with designated life guards. Ask that kids always swim with a buddy, too. • Life jackets – Children should wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket, particularly children with poor swimming skills. A life-preserver should also be on hand. DNR strongly recommends that all family members wear a life jacket while boating on Indiana lakes and waterways. • Diving – Teach children never to dive into oceans, lakes or rivers because they do not know what dangerous structures can lurk below the water’s surface.