In addition to power outages and excruciating heat, an area in Northeast Ohio has encountered another obstacle, deadly water-related incidents including several drownings this month alone. And this past week, a toddler drowned in his very own swimming pool.

It was far from the normally peaceful Belden neighborhood that day as hospital sirens and police cars filled the streets on Belden Avenue. According to police reports, officers were called to the location of 3515 Belden Avenue, located on the southside of Youngstown, Ohio where they found three-year-old Kayden Braden dead. Kayden was being watched by his grandmother, Marcia Braden, at the time of the drowning.  The grandmother was watching several children in her home and had a four foot deep swimming pool she had got for Kayden.

Braden took all of the children into the house to take off their flotation devices and give them something to eat. After one young boy finished eating his cereal, he went back outside into the pool where he felt something hit his leg and thought it was a toy, but when he looked down he saw little Kayden lying at the bottom of the pool.

The young boy then proceeded to grab Kayden out of the pool where he layed him on the deck, screaming for help, and then Braden attempted to give her grandson CPR but he was unresponsive.

Police arrived at the scene at approximately 2:30 Wednesday afternoon, where they questioned Braden about what happened. Braden, who was crying hysterically, told officers that he initially came inside but must have gone back out to the pool when she was tending to the other children. Shortly thereafter she collapsed after having trouble breathing when police were talking to her. She was then rushed to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital by ambulance.

As Kayden was rushed off to the hospital, neighbors and spectators stood outside their homes praying for Kayden. He was taken to Akron Children’s Hospital Boardman Campus where he was officially pronounced dead with the cause of death being drowning.

According to Detective Sargent Doug Bobovick, “The incident does not seem to involve any foul play.” Police are investigating, and even though it’s very early on in the investigation, Detective Bobovick believes that it was just a horrible accident.

In the tri-county area including Mahoning, Columbiana and Trumbull counties, several people have died as a result of drowning this past year, five of which are in the month of July alone.

Mark Goodrich, a 12-year-old boy from Sharon, Pennsylvania, just over the Ohio border went swimming with friends two weeks ago in the Shenango Valley River and went missing. He was found dead the next day on the side of the river by a local resident.

Three others have also drowned in the region two weekends ago, all in different locations, and all were ruled as “accidental drownings.”

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Considering the weather conditions in the winter in Ohio, almost all construction is done during the summertime, when its warm and sunny so construction workers don’t have to worry about snow, ice, windchills, and freezing temperatures. But the railroad construction being done lately in northern Trumbull county, located in Northeast Ohio, has been posing problems for residents and emergency crews.

Several roads have been shut down where railroad crossings are located, and while residents look at it as a major inconvenience, another worry is if there is an emergency somewhere medics will not be able to arrive in time.

According to Major Harold Firster of the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office, “It’s very frustrating when you can’t get to the citizenry of the county.”

This past Wednesday, Trumbull County deputies had much difficulty arriving at a scene in the area after an emergency call had been made as four of the main routes in the area have been closed of for railroad repairs.

Bill Spithaler, a local resident that lives on Davis Peck Road, has concern for his community during this time:

“The fire departments and the sheriff’s department, nobody knew all these crossings were closed to where they have access. It’s an inconvenience for residents, but for the EMS it could be a major life-threatening ordeal for somebody that needed services.”

Major Firster believes that the announcement of all the closures taking place in the area were not made aware to the proper channels. “With multiple agencies trying to report this problem, it never really filtered down to the 911 center or the Sheriff’s office,” Firster said.

Norfolk Southern, who is doing all the repairs, usually let local residents know when, where, and for how long they will be doing work, but many have been left unaware posing problems such as getting held up in traffic or being late for work. Fortunately for the community, Firster is taking action and has contacted Norfolk Southern and the Department of Homeland Security and has been able to come to an agreement for emergency vehicles before the construction is completed. The agreement entails that all emergency vehicles will now be allowed in what was before restricted areas even for them, and that they are allowed to cross railroad tracks, including passing through the roads that have been closed off to local residents.

“Of the nine crossings that were closed, four of them are either open, or able to be crossed at this time,” Firster said. The other remaining five will be open soon.

Construction should be wrapped up in the next few days and all will resume back to normal in the community, in addition to new and improved streets and railroad crossings.

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