Boy Dies After Being Pulled From Public Pool

A 6-year-old Justice boy died Wednesday after lifeguards pulled him out of a south suburban pool Tuesday afternoon.

Michael Duda, of Justice, was pulled from the shallow end of the the Bridgeview Park District pool by lifeguards who also took life-saving measures, Bridgeview police Chief Walter Klimek said.

"He was unresponsive, and they immediately began CPR, which continued until the paramedics arrived in a few minutes. The boy was immediately taken to Christ Hospital,” Klimek said.

Duda was at the pool at 8100 S. Beloit Ave. as part of a Park District summer camp program, Klimek said.

“There were 73 children and 10 counselors (from the camp) who were chaperoning them at the pool,” Klimek said. “The pool is closed and will remain closed through Friday, due to the fact that this is still an active investigation.”

Police have reviewed videotape but saw nothing that explained why the boy was unresponsive, he said.

“You can see him being rescued, and CPR being given to him,” he said.

There were about 300 people in the pool, well below the 345 maximum allowed, he said.

“We are not sure exactly what happened, but we do know based on interviews, the lifeguards acted quickly,” Klimek said. “Obviously, this is tough on everyone right now."

“Again, this is an ongoing investigation, and we’re still in the process of interviewing lifeguards, the counselors and so forth,” he said. “The lifeguards did a very good job. They were complimented by the paramedic unit.”

Klimek said it was the first major emergency at the pool in the last 30 years. "A tragic accident, definitely. The park district does their part to make sure there's enough staff on hand for everything," pool member Sandy Shalaby said. br />
The pool will be closed for the next three days during the investigation.