Two children drown days apart in Lee County, one dead

LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK)—A 3-year-old boy has died after a drowning in Lee County, just days after an 18-month-old boy nearly drowned in a separate incident.

The two cases come as more than 70 children across Florida have died by drowning this year alone. Drowning remains the leading cause of accidental death for children under five in the state.

Sunday afternoon, police and firefighters rushed to an area off Hancock Bridge Parkway after an 18-month-old boy ended up in a body of water behind a home. Cape Coral police say the toddler is now stable.

Michael Haggard, a board member with the National Drowning Prevention Alliance, says it's a problem every parent should take seriously.

"For the last two decades, the leading cause of accidental death of children in Florida has been drowning for children under five. That has never changed," Haggard said.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office says deputies responded to a drowning on Sunny Crest Lane in Olga Friday afternoon. A 3-year-old boy was taken to the hospital and died Monday morning.

"It is an epidemic throughout the country, and we have to do more. Our local leaders, our leaders in Tallahassee, and even in Washington, need to pay attention to this epidemic and try to put more layers of protection in place to protect the kids," Haggard said.

More than 70 children have died by drowning in Florida this year. Last year, that number was 119, with nearly 80% under the age of three.

Haggard says danger isn't limited to swimming pools. Canals, lakes and retention ponds can put open water just steps from where children live.

"Bodies of water that are so near communities have to have some type of barrier. We see that barriers work in apartment complexes. In a canal situation, you know, there either needs to be requirement that the homes have some type of barriers, or the actual body of water does, so that we can protect our children from a tragedy like this one," Haggard said.

WINK News is still working to learn more about what led up to both of these drownings.