‘I thought it was a doll’: Boy, 3, drowns in South Florida lake

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. — A 3-year-old boy died Friday night, hours after the toddler was pulled out of a lake near his South Florida home, authorities said.

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According to the Coconut Police Department, officers responded to a 911 call at about 6:30 p.m. EDT at the Advenir at Cocoplum complex in Coconut Creek, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

A neighbor spotted the boy floating in the water, and a person who was at a community swimming pool nearby began performing CPR until first responders arrived, according to the newspaper.

Update: The 3-year-old boy pulled from the lake near Cocoplum Circle passed away @BrowardHealth Coral Springs. The death investigation is ongoing. pic.twitter.com/t5zjU4LfH0
— Coconut Creek Police Department (@CoconutCreekPD) August 20, 2022

“I walked out to the patio (and) I saw a body floating in the water,” Scott Diamond told WSVN-TV. “At first, I thought it was a doll.

“I jumped in, I got the child out of the water, and we were lucky enough that somebody performed CPR right away.”

The boy was taken to an area hospital, where he later died, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

What parents need to know about ‘dry’ and ‘secondary’ drowning

It is unclear how the boy ended up in the lake, WFOR-TV reported.

“This is where the kid came out of the water, but we’re not exactly sure where the boy went into the water,” Scotty Leamon, a spokesperson for Coconut Creek Police and Fire Rescue, told WSVN. He added that foul play was not suspected but that the investigation was ongoing.

A 3-year-old boy has died in the hospital after a resident at an apartment complex in Coconut Creek pulled the unresponsive toddler from a nearby lake, police said. https://t.co/7TAjp0wdxb
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) August 20, 2022

The backyards of nearly two dozen townhomes at the complex face the community’s lake, WPLG-TV reported.

“The lake is always closed, so I don’t understand,” Xavier Griffin, who lives in the area, told the television station.

Diamond said he is still trying to process what happened.

“It was a shocking experience,” he told WSVN. “I’m handling it, but hopefully the family is OK.”

Leamon said the boy’s drowning should serve as a wake-up call to parents of young children.

“You always want to talk to your kids about how you stay away from there, kind of keep them where you can see them,” Leamon said. “But kids are kids, and they’re gonna get out and everything. It’s just something you have to keep in mind as a parent.”