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Boy, 8, drowns in Flushing pool

Boy, 8, drowns in Flushing pool
By Katy Gagnon

An 8-year old boy drowned at a Fourth of July pool party in Flushing last week.

Justin Almonte was celebrating the holiday with his family and friends at a home on 136th Street in Flushing near 63rd Road when he drowned Friday in a backyard pool, police said.

Police sources said the boy was the son of an officer at the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn and lived in western Queens, the New York Post reported.

Almonte, the only child at the party, was sitting near the pool shortly before revelers noticed the child was missing around 7 p.m., the Post reported.

“People turned and said, 'Where's the kid?,' ” a source told the New York Post. “Someone said, 'He's in the pool.' “

A family friend, also a lifeguard, jumped in after the boy and tried to resuscitate him, the Post said.

Emergency responders arrived at the house and rushed Almonte to New York Hospital Queens, where he was pronounced dead. The medical examiner ruled the death accidental and determined drowning was the cause of death. It was initially reported the that Almonte might have suffered a seizure.

The police investigation into how Almonte drowned was continuing Monday, but no criminality was suspected.

Almonte's death was the third drowning to occur over the holiday week.

A 2-year-old girl from Central Islip, L.I., drowned in her family's pool July 2 and a nanny in Syosset, L.I., died July 3 while trying to save one of her charges, a 3-year-old boy.

Ana Maria Montano DeGimenez, 49, of Brooklyn, dove in to save the toddler, who had taken off his life vest, police said. Montano DeGimenez was rushed to North Shore University Hospital in Syosset, where she was pronounced dead. The boy was taken to Schneider Children's Hospital in New Hyde Park, where he was listed in stable condition and admitted for cautionary reasons, according to police.

City Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-East Elmhurst), who knows the toddler's family and acted as a spokesman for the family, held a news conference at the children's hospital July 4.

“He is doing much better,” a Monserrate spokesman said of the boy.

Reach reporter Katy Gagnon by e-mail at kgagnon@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300 Ext 174.