4th-grader nearly drowns at school pool

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) - A swim coach was able to rescue and revive a fourth-grader found after he was at the bottom of a high school swimming pool during a pool party Tuesday afternoon.

The boy was with a group of New Market Elementary students being treated to swim time at the Southmont High School pool for academic achievement when the near-drowning happened, according to 24-Hour News 8 news partner The Paper of Montgomery County. Courtney Winninger, the Southmont swim coach and the school’s pool operator, as well as a certified life guard, administered CPR.

Medical crews from several area departments were called to the school, and the 9-year-old boy, whose name was not immediately released, was alert and speaking to medics before being flown to Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health in Indianapolis.

South Montgomery schools Superintendent Bret Lewis told The Paper that the decision to send him to Riley was based on the nature of the incident.

Investigators from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department talked with all the children present at the time of the near-drowning, along with school staff.