Mother Loses Sight of 2 Year Old in Pool Area

Egbert, et al. vs. Tuscany Townhomes, et al.

On or about Wednesday, October 3, 2001, 2-year-old Kaleb Egbert wandered away from his mother, Amber Egbert, while walking behind the Tuscany Townhomes. Mrs. Egbert had been supervising Kaleb and another child and lost sight of Kaleb when she went after the other child.

Mrs. Egbert searched for Kaleb by looking in the individual courtyards behind each town home, and then went to the playground to search there. Mrs. Egbert solicited the assistance of other residents to search for Kaleb, and then returned to her own townhouse to see if Kaleb was there.

Mrs. Egbert called the police at 1655 hrs., approximately 20 – 25 minutes after Kaleb disappeared. Mrs. Egbert then continued searching the townhouse complex for Kaleb.

Mrs. Egbert and others were searching, Kaleb was able to access the swimming pool area and shed all his clothes on the pool deck prior to entering the water. Megan Anderson and Natasha Kanage had been searching for Kaleb, at the request of Mrs. Egbert, and found him in the 6′ deep area of the pool. Both Megan and Natasha jumped the fence when they observed Kaleb floating face down in the pool, then Natasha jumped in the pool and pulled Kaleb out of the water.

Upon hearing the screams from Megan and Natasha, Amber Egbert entered the pool area shortly after Kaleb was removed from the water. Amber Egbert initiated CPR on Kaleb and was relieved by Tammy Stone, a resident of the community and a nurse, along with an unidentified man.

At 1658 hrs. Police received a call reporting a child drowning in the Tuscany Townhomes Pool. The call to 9-1-1 was made by Heather Gillette, an employee of the club house at Tuscany Townhomes. While CPR was being administered, Becki Blackburn, the Tuscany Townhomes Manager, relayed CPR instructions from the 9-1-1 operator.

West Jordan Police Department, Salt Lake County and West Jordan Fire and EMS Units responded to the emergency dispatch. Life Flight was dispatched to the scene and Kaleb was transported by Life Flight to Primary Children’s Medical Center.

Kaleb had been hospitalized for several days prior to discontinuation of
life support, and died of complications following the near-drowning
incident.