AVONDALE, Ariz. — A 1-year-old boy drowned after falling into a backyard pool in Avondale Saturday afternoon.
His family says his name was Giovanni Elias Ojeda and he had just turned one.
“My baby was a little angel,” said Olga Ojeda, Giovanni’s grandmother.
She says his parents were planning a Halloween party when the toddler’s mother noticed he wasn’t around.
“Started making the food, started getting everything ready, and one by one my daughter-in-law starts counting, 'OK. where’s this one and where’s Giovanni, where’s Giovanni?' and the first thing she did was run out to find that he was in the pool," said Ojeda.
The boy was immediately pulled out of the pool. His grandma says his mom started CPR and he started breathing as both parents held him.
“He took a breath. He looked at them ... he throw out stuff and from there ambulance got there everything just happened so quickly,” said Ojeda.
Unfortunately, Giovanni passed away at the hospital. He was his parents’ first and only son.
“He was my little red, my 14th grandson that I loved so much, I've seen all my grandkids be born. Now I have to bury him,” said Ojeda.
The family says the pool was not gated. According to the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona, there have been 43 drownings in the state so far this year.
A GoFundMe page has been set-up by Giovanni’s family to help with funeral expenses.