4-year-old injured at Y pool

Published 10:39 am Thursday, July 22, 2010

A 4-year-old girl almost drowned Wednesday morning while at the YMCA’s pool.

According Bainbridge Public Safety report, Coby-James Harper was pulled from the pool after 11 a.m. by lifeguards and she was unresponsive and not breathing.

Harper’s “body was also discolored and her right arm was severally discolored to a dark blue, almost black,” the police report said.

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When police and Emergency Medical Services arrived, Liv Warren of the YMCA was performing CPR on Harper.

Speaking with Warren briefly, police said she advised she was unaware of how long Harper was under water. She was alerted by Justin Gravlee, who is a tennis instructor at the YMCA, of Harper’s submersion as he was bringing her out of the water.

“Liv stated she was giving swim lessons to a single individual in lane six, on the opposite side of the pool,” the police report stated. “Liv stated she administered CPR for approximately three to four minutes prior to EMS’ arrival. Liv stated there were two lifeguards on duty at the time of the incident.”

Ken Bailey, the CEO of the YMCA, said Thursday morning he was reviewing the incident and would withholding any comment until after his review.

According to the police report, Gravlee stated he was inside the pool area with the kids from the tennis and swim camp.

“Justin stated he was also unaware of how long Harper was submerged, but was the first to notice Harper under water,” the police stated. “Justin stated he immediately jumped in and removed Harper from the pool. Justin yelled for Liv to give him assistance.”

EMS transported Harper by ambulance to Memorial Hospital where she was later transported to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital’s pediatric intensive care.

According to an e-mail obtained by The Post-Searchlight, Harper is the daughter of Jenny and Ridge Harper. The e-mail states that Harper’s vital signs were good.