2-Year-Old Boy Hospitalized After Nearly Drowning in Family’s Calif. Pool in ‘Devastating Accident’

A Southern California family is sounding a critical alarm on water safety after their two-year-old son, Ezequiel, narrowly survived a drowning incident in a residential swimming pool. The March 13 tragedy has prompted the boy’s mother, Rosa Agustin, to advocate for rigorous home security measures as the summer season approaches.

The incident occurred at the family’s Moreno Valley home while Agustin was traveling in Mexico. According to family accounts, a lapse in supervision developed when Ezequiel’s father and grandmother each mistakenly believed the other was monitoring the toddler. During that brief window of confusion, the child wandered into the backyard and entered the pool.

The emergency was first identified by Agustin’s seven-year-old son, who alerted her via phone. Home security footage captured the harrowing moments as the family discovered the toddler and realized the gravity of the situation.

First responders airlifted Ezequiel to Loma Linda Medical Center, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in critical condition. He remained in the ICU for 11 days before showing enough improvement to be moved to a general recovery ward. While his condition has stabilized, medical professionals have cautioned that the road to full rehabilitation will be extensive.

“It’s just hard. I still feel it, there’s a lot of pain,” Agustin told reporters, emphasizing the suddenness of the accident. “Secure your backdoors, put a high lock on your doors, put an alarm on your doors… secure your pools. Summer is coming.”

The financial impact on the family of eight has been significant. A GoFundMe campaign was established to assist with “overwhelming medical bills,” the cost of the life-flight, and daily living expenses. Both parents have temporarily stepped away from their employment to provide the round-the-clock care and physical therapy Ezequiel now requires.

Drowning remains a leading cause of accidental death for toddlers in the United States. Safety experts and the Agustin family are urging parents to implement “layers of protection,” including:

• High-intensity supervision: Never assuming another adult is watching a child without a formal hand-off.
• Physical Barriers: Installing four-sided fencing with self-closing, self-latching gates.
• Alarms: Utilizing door and pool alarms to provide immediate notification of unauthorized backyard access.

“Accidents like this happen in the blink of an eye,” the family stated. Their hope is that by sharing Ezequiel’s story, they can prevent other families from enduring similar trauma.