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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS -- A 7-month-old girl is in extremely critical condition and on life support at Primary Children's Hospital after she slipped under the water in a bathtub. Her mother says she had left the child for less than five minutes.
Cottonwood Heights police say the baby slipped under the water around 8 p.m. Tuesday at a home near 7100 South and 2800 East.
It is tragic for everyone involved. These parents, my heart goes to them.
–Sgt. Gary Young
Police say the mother reported to them that she had placed the child in a smaller tub inside the larger bathtub and then stepped away for less than five minutes to get clothes for the baby.
Sgt. Gary Young said, "The child went underwater at that time. When she returned, the child was underwater. She took the child out and called for help."
A dispatcher helped the mother perform CPR. When police arrived, the child was not responding and was turning blue. Officers immediately took over CPR. Paramedics continued it as the girl was transported to Primary Children's Medical Center.
"It is tragic for everyone involved," Young said. "These parents, my heart goes to them. It only takes a few moments to step away from a child, in circumstances like this, in a bath, the most tragic of circumstances arise from it."
The child's grandparents said that the child was showing some small signs of improvement this morning.
Police say that all signs point to this being a very tragic accident.
Police say it's unknown if the girl will survive. They remind parents that a young child can slip under the water within a matter of seconds, so they should not be left unsupervised.
Story written with contributions from Shara Park with contributions from Andrew Adams.
