Boy, 3, stable after being pulled from pool

A 3-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital Monday after he was found at the bottom of a pool in an Oakland Park apartment complex.

The toddler had been playing with his teenage brother and sister near the basketball courts inside La Estancia Apartments, but ran off, said Linda Bowers, property manager at the complex located in the 4100 block of Northwest 21st Avenue.

"Apparently they saw him run away, and they thought he went home to the mom and when the mom came down looking for the little boy that's when the brother and sister realized he wasn't with the mom," Bowers said.

Maintenance worker Greg Johnson, 26, was walking toward the pool when he heard the boy's mother scream.

"As soon as she opened the gate, she started screaming, so I actually ran over and was able to help her grab the kid out [of the pool] and immediately performed CPR on the boy," Johnson said. "As she handed me the boy I knew he was in bad shape."

It was unknown how long the toddler had been submerged in the water. He was found in the deep end of the pool, which is 6 feet deep.

"He was limp," Johnson said. "He was lifeless. I prayed as much as I could, and I just pumped. I just prayed and pumped – that's all I did."

Monday was Johnson's first day as a maintenance worker at the complex. He said he is CPR certified.

"I'm glad I could help out and I was at the right place at the right time where I could be some kind of help," he said.

Nicole Bateman, 31, was visiting friends in the complex when she heard the commotion.

"I just heard yelling, and I end up running over there to see the guy doing CPR and I stepped in to help him do CPR," said Bateman, who is also CPR certified. "It was really, really hurtful because I wouldn't want anyone to see their child like that."

The toddler didn't have a pulse but Bateman kept trying until rescue crews arrived, she said.

"You have to keep going just for the family's sake — you have to," Bateman said, fighting back tears.

Oakland Park Fire Rescue transported the boy to an area hospital, where he was revived, Bowers said.

"The police just said he's intubated and stable," Bowers said. "We prayed over that little boy. I had all the kids out by the pool praying. It's a miracle that he's alive."

emiller@tribune.com, 954-356-4544 or Twitter @EmilyBethMiller