Jul 5, 2007 8:03 pm US/Central
State Investigates Pool Incident That Injured Girl
by Heather Brown
(WCCO)
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Most Minnesota cities inspect public pools once a year. Trained on-site pool operators are responsible for making sure they're kept up to code. (File)
CBS
A six-year-old Edina girl is still in serious condition after parts of her intestines were sucked from her body by a pool drain at the Minneapolis Golf Club. Abigail Taylor's father said the only drain cover in the kiddie pool was off, a violation of the state's code.
"This is a true hidden danger in plain site," said Abigail's father Scott Taylor.
St. Louis Park Environmental Health official Manny Camilon inspects all the outdoor pools in St. Louis Park. He said in his 29 years as an inspector, he's never seen a case like this and he rarely sees a drain cover that's missing or broken.
"It's the worse nightmare of any inspector. We want to take this very, very seriously and do our best on this investigation," he said.
Camilon inspected the Minneapolis Golf Club pool most recently in May. Records from the past three years show there was nothing to indicate there was anything wrong with the cover. Camilon said he would have shut down a pool with a missing drain cover.
Most Minnesota cities inspect public pools once a year. Trained on-site pool operators are responsible for making sure they're kept up to code.
"We have to rely on the pool operators to practice what they've been taught," said Camilon.
He said a pool operator should inspect the pool everyday, including whether the state-required cover is screwed on properly.
The kiddie pool at the Minneapolis Golf Club is closed. The city and state are investigating the incident.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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