What to Know
- A NY couple is spreading the word about pool safety before the holiday weekend, so parents don't have the same tragedy they did
- During a family vacation in 2015, the couple's daughter Sage wandered off as they packed the car and drowned in the vacation home's pool
- After the death of their 2-year-old, the Westchester couple is telling others to keep an eye on their kids at all times
Heather Landau and Daniel Pfeffer are spreading the word about pool and water safety before the Fourth of July weekend, so that other parents won’t have to deal with the same type of tragedy they faced four years ago.
During a family vacation in 2015, Landau and Pfeffer were packing up their car for a family day trip when their daughter Sage wandered off.
“Everybody was in the front of the home, and we had no idea that there was any access to the back of the home,” Landau said Tuesday. “Sage slipped away from moments, but that was too long.”
Sage, just 2 years old at the time, drowned in the pool in back of the vacation rental house. Her parents are now telling others to keep an eye on their kids at all times, because kids don’t just drown when everyone is at the pool together.
“It does happen in seconds, these children are drawn to the water and in this age group they don’t even know how to scream,” Landau said. “All they do is open their mouth and suck in all the water, and drowning happens in seconds.”
Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children under the age of 5. Heather and Daniel were helping Westchester County officials hand out water guardian badges at a park on Tuesday, designating one person at every gathering at a pool or near water to have eyes on one specific child.
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“Whenever there’s access to water, you have to be within arm’s length of a toddler,” Landau urged.
