1-year-old girls ID'd as children who drowned in San Jose day care pool, coroner says
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Two toddlers who drowned at a San Jose day care Monday have been identified.
The Santa Clara County Coroner confirmed Tuesday that they were two one-year-old girls, Payton Cobb from Hollister and Lilian Hanan from San Jose.
"This is the type of call that's the worst that a parent can receive," said Officer Steven Aponte with the San Jose Police Department, "As a department, we're going to investigate this."
Police were called to Happy Happy Day Care after 9 a.m. for a welfare check.
SJPD did not say who made the initial call and how the children got into the pool.
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Police say homicide detectives are investigating along with the Department of Family and Children's services.
Charges have not yet been filed though the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office confirmed with ABC7 that they are reviewing the case.
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According to the Department of Social Services, the home day care center was licensed in January of 2021 to two women.
The pool was noted as an "off limits" area in their license.
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Kristina Andrews of Morgan Hill founded a nonprofit to teach kids survival skills in the water.
It's named "Kourtney's Kause" after her young daughter, Kourtney, died in a friend's pool.
"I feel for those parents so deeply, because, you know, I know firsthand what it feels like to lose a child to this," she said.
Though details are still not clear as to how the kids at the day care got into the pool, Andrews says it's critical that children learn survival skills in the water and that pools are secure.
"There's a total difference between a fence around a pool and a pool fence," said Andrews pointing to her fence, "This is actually designed to keep children out. So cannot be climbed."
But beyond just a fence, Andrews says that homes need layers of protection.
"If I open this door right now it is going to be an obnoxiously loud noise that goes off immediately," she said pointing to an alarm on her sliding glass door.
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Other measures include a keypad on the gate leading into her backyard and an automatic pool cover that covers the pool entirely.
"Survival swim lessons is the last layer of protection, aside from CPR, but the last layer of protection that the child has, and that is not reliant on any human but the child themselves," Andrews said.
As for the investigation into that San Jose day care, police say it will take several months.
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