A heartbreaking tragedy occurred Friday evening in Wayne, New Jersey, where a 5-year-old child drowned in a backyard swimming pool. According to the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, the child was unaccompanied at the time of the incident. A witness spotted the child in distress and quickly called emergency services. First responders rushed the child to Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains, but sadly, the child was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
The drowning occurred at a home near the intersection of Armstrong Avenue and Maple Lane. Authorities have not yet released the name of the child, and the case remains under active investigation. As of now, no criminal charges have been announced.
This latest drowning underscores a grim reality: young children continue to be at high risk around water, especially when left unsupervised. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), children aged 5 and under account for 75% of all child drowning deaths in pools across the United States between 2021 and 2023.
The CPSC further reports that the number of children under 5 who drowned in pools rose from 243 in 2019 to 284 in 2021. These statistics reflect an urgent public safety issue—one that demands stronger education, supervision, and safeguards for residential pool environments.
The CPSC’s top safety recommendation is clear: Never leave children unattended near water. Yet, unaccompanied child drownings like the one in Wayne continue to occur, often in residential settings where families believe their children are safe.
In addition to constant supervision, the CPSC urges all pool-owning households to:
Teach children how to swim at an early age
Ensure pools are surrounded by four-sided fencing with self-closing, self-latching gates
Keep emergency equipment, like flotation devices and a phone, nearby
Install pool alarms and door alarms leading to pool areas
Educate children to stay away from pool drains and suction outlets
In this case, questions are likely to arise about whether the child had unsupervised access to the pool, whether proper safety barriers were in place, and what efforts—if any—were made by homeowners to prevent such access.
Under New Jersey premises liability law, residential pool owners have a legal obligation to maintain their properties in a reasonably safe condition. When a child gains access to a swimming pool and suffers injury or death due to a lack of adequate safety measures, homeowners can be held civilly liable, even if the incident is classified as accidental.
This legal principle is especially strong in cases involving young children, who are considered attractive nuisances under the law. That means property owners must take extra precautions to secure pools and prevent access, regardless of whether the child had permission to be there.
If an investigation determines that safety barriers were missing, gates were left unlocked, or pool access was otherwise negligent, the family of the child may have grounds to pursue a wrongful death claim or other legal action.
At Aquatic Attorneys, we understand the overwhelming pain families endure following a drowning or near-drowning incident—especially when a young child is involved. Led by nationally recognized trial attorney Michael Haggard, Esq., our firm has decades of experience representing victims in pool-related injury and wrongful death cases across the country.
We specialize in holding negligent pool owners, property managers, and institutions accountable when a failure in safety leads to irreversible loss. We offer comprehensive legal support for families navigating these devastating events and are committed to helping them find answers, accountability, and justice.
If your family has suffered the unthinkable due to a pool-related death or injury, you do not have to face the legal system alone. Contact Aquatic Attorneys today for a free, confidential consultation. Your child’s life matters—and we’re here to help protect others from the same fate.
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