Nine children under 5 years old have died by drowning in pools in Virginia since Memorial day, according to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).
One death occurred in the Northern region of the state as defined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia (OCME). Three occurred in the Tidewater OCME region, and five in the Central OCME region, said Brookie Crawford, public information officer for VDH. The Central OCME region spans over 40 counties and cities, including Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
This is as many pool drowning deaths among children under 5 as were recorded over the last three years combined, and it’s the highest number for a single year in the last five years, according to data provided by Crawford…