A 9-year-old boy drowned Sunday in a water-filled pit that is part of a splash pool under construction in a West Side park, officials said late Sunday.
The boy was one of five children who crawled underneath a 10-foot fence separating the construction site from the playground in LaFollette Park at Potomac and Laramie Avenues, said David Doig, general superintendent of the Chicago Park District. While playing inside the construction site the boy fell into the pit, Doig said.
The pit was excavated Thursday. Doig said workers apparently struck a water pipe, which caused it to fill with water. However park personnel did not notice water in the pit during a routine patrol of the park Saturday, Doig said
At about 8 p.m. Sunday, police and fire officials responded to a 911 call that someone had fallen into the pit. It took divers 30 minutes to locate the boy in the dark, murky water, estimated at 12 to 15 feet deep, Doig said.
On Sunday, nearby residents and a local alderman gathered at the park and expressed outrage, saying the Park District failed to build adequate barriers to keep children out.
“They should have something that blocks it so you can’t see what’s there,” said Arlene Jones, president of the LaFollette Park Advisory Council. “It shouldn’t have taken a child to die.”
“It’s a terrible tragedy that could’ve been prevented with just a little foresight,” said Ald. Emma Mitts (37th).
The boy was pronounced dead at 8:59 p.m. in West Suburban Hospital Medical Center in Oak Park, a hospital spokeswoman said.