6-year-old drowns in pool at birthday party
BY CHRIS GAETANO
Staff Writer

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - A 6-year-old Linden boy drowned Sunday evening in an in-ground pool, according to police.

The victim, Dominic Gullo, had been set to enter the first grade in the fall. Police investigations have ruled the incident as an accident.

The boy was celebrating his birthday at a Junction Pond Lane residence with three other children and 11 adults. The home has a deck off the rear sliding door. The pool is approximately 25 feet to the left of the deck. The pool is about 24 feet long and goes from a shallow depth of about 3 feet to the deep end of 7 feet.

The majority of the time, the boy was wearing a flotation vest but he took it off in order to go to the bathroom. When he returned, he went back to the deck and had some food. After about 15-20 minutes passed, according to police, people began to ask where the child was. Unable to find him, they began searching both inside the house and around the neighborhood.

One of the people at the party looked around the pool and saw him at the bottom of the pool's deep end. That person jumped into the pool and pulled him out, police said.

A neighbor, hearing the screams, ran to the home and began CPR. An officer was a block away and arrived within a minute of the call and continued CPR. The Monmouth Junction First Aid Squad and paramedics rushed him to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. The victim was pronounced dead at 6:28 p.m.

According to police, the pool had a dark liner that made visibility difficult. It is believed the child may have tried to get a pair of goggles found at the bottom of the pool when the drowning occurred.

Police Chief Ray Hayducka expressed sorrow at the accident.

"This is an accident with tragic consequences. Our hearts go out to Dominic's family and friends, and to all the rescuers and neighbor who tried to save him," Hayducka said.