Swimming Expert Urging Water Safety After Recent Drownings

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - There have been several drowning or near-drowning incidents in our area in the past few weeks. A swimming expert says although accidents do happen, swimming is a lifelong skill and everyone should learn in order to be safe in the water.

The most recent incident happened on Tuesday when Danielle Meskel, 29, of the North Side, was found unresponsive in a backyard pool in Tarentum.

She was pronounced dead at the scene and an autopsy was performed on Wednesday. According to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office, Meskel died from died of blunt force trauma to the neck. They say the incident was an accident, and Allegheny County Police say "no foul play is suspected."

The homeowner told police she didn't know Meskel, and wasn't sure why she was in the pool.

"There's always more to the story...Just hope they take care of the kids and it works out," one man said.

Last week, Destin Badeau, 14, of Carrick, drowned while swimming in a Butler County quarry.

"There's undercurrents, there's obstacles unseen, and no one should be jumping into any body of water without passing a swimming test first," certified aquatics instructor Mary Lou Hoffman said.

Hoffman teaches swimming lessons to people who can't swim and trains lifeguards at the Thelma Lovette YMCA in Pittsburgh's Hill District.

"Swimming is a lifelong sport, it's a lifelong skill that needs to be done properly and it needs to be done completely so that they can swim the length of the pool comfortably and know how to tread water," she said.

It was a lifeguard who pulled a 4-year-old boy from a community pool in Scott Township last week and performed CPR.

"I did chest compressions and on about the eighth one, he coughed up and his eyes opened," Ross Manganaro said.

A 20-year-old man was rescued from the bottom of the Magee Pool in Greenfield Tuesday afternoon. Again, lifeguards performed CPR.

As summer continues, swimmers are urged to use caution in the water.

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