Thursday, July 31, 2003 | 11:20 a.m.
Her grandmother was in the bathroom. Her father was on the phone. So Hailey Corona, 2, ducked out of the house and into the back yard, according to family members.
An "unsecured makeshift locking device" screening the pool was no match for the toddler's ingenuity, police said.
Just more than 10 minutes later, the girl's grandmother, Rosa Corona, looked out her window to see Hailey floating face-down in the backyard pool at her house on Colanthe Avenue, near Rancho Drive and Oakey Boulevard. Rosa Corona quickly dialed 911, and Hailey was rushed to University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead shortly after her arrival Wednesday evening, according to Metro Police spokeswoman Carla Alston.
The child's drowning was the fourth such case in the Las Vegas area this year, said Lisa Teele of Metro Police's Abuse and Neglect division. Teele said Metro Police is investigating. No charges had been filed as of Wednesday night.
"(Hailey) was really bright, really smart," the girl's aunt, Aracelia Corona, said. "She was just a really happy baby."
Like most toddlers, she could also be mischievous, Aracelia Corona added. "She was always trying to get into everything."
Teele said, "This is a tragedy for the family. It's very tough. So we're trying to get as much information as we can."
Meanwhile, Teele said her department is urging parents and supervisors of children not to take any chances around pools.
"Since January we have had four drownings and three near-drownings of toddler-age children," Teele said. "It happens far too often in our community."
What steps can families take to prevent a tragedy?
"Number one, supervision," Teele said. "They need to take responsibility for their children. Secondly, we need to ensure that we have gates, security around the pool.
"Third, we need to evaluate our locking devices on our residences" to make sure children can't open them.
According to the Clark County Health District's website on drowning prevention, the majority of drowning victims are under 4 years old.
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