Westbrook Girl Dies After Pool Incident in Westbrook, Connecticut

WESTBROOK - A school vacation turned tragic for Marie Patrice Mazeau who was found unresponsive and face down in the swimming pool at the Valley-Shore YMCA in Westbrook on Wednesday, April 16.

Nine-year-old Marie was one of 30 children at the pool during a swimming lesson as part of YMCA's "School's Out Vacation Camp."

Most of the children she was with were fellow Daisy Ingraham Elementary School students.

Schools throughout the region were on spring vacation during that week.

According to the New Haven Register, Paul Mohabir, chief executive officer of the Valley-Shore YMCA, said that one of three lifeguards on duty noticed that Marie's swimming pattern changed and she did not resurface for air.

After taking her out of the pool, one of the lifeguards began performing CPR while the other two escorted the rest of the children into classrooms.

Connecticut State Police Troop F and Westbrook emergency personnel arrived soon after.

She was reportedly taken by ambulance to theMiddlesex Hospital Shoreline Medical Center in Essex at about 10:25 a.m. only hours before she was flown by helicopter for medical treatment at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

When friends and family visited Marie that afternoon, she was on a ventilator.

Mazeau died less than two days after the pool incident shortly before 12 a.m. on Friday, April 18 with her parents, Janet and Steven Mazeau, nearby.

The Register reported that Connecticut State Police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said that it was a "tragic accident" and there was no criminality to the case.
Witness interviews helped police establish a clear timeline of the incident including the length of time Marie was underwater.

While a police investigation has been concluded, the report was not available at press time.

The office of the chief medical examiner determined that the cause of death was asphyxia due to submersion.

While Marie was described by family members as a "strong swimmer" it is uncertain how many swimming lessons she had taken.

9-year-old Marie Patrice Mazeau tragically died after her lifeless body was found at the Valley-Shore YMCA pool in Westbrook, CT

Credit: Westbrook Public Schools - http://www2.westbrookctschools.org/

Copyright: Westbrook Public Schools/Press Release