A Louisiana babysitter was arrested after a toddler fell into a pool and drowned after being left underwater for 20 minutes, according to authorities.
Joann Johnson, 37, was charged with one count of negligent homicide on Wednesday after the 3-year-old boy died in her in-home daycare in Prairieville on May 18, according to the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Two young children in Johnson’s care were playing in the backyard that afternoon, “without any safety wear,” when the 3-year-old fell into the pool and drowned, cops wrote in a statement.
The toddler was unconscious for a whopping 20 minutes before Johnson was seen on surveillance footage pulling him out of the water, police said.
Emergency responders rushed to revive the boy with CPR, but he was ultimately pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Police filed an arrest warrant for Johnson following an investigation. The babysitter turned herself in on Wednesday and was booked into the Ascension Parish Jail.
Drowning is the number one cause of death for children 1-4 years old in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
