Beautiful backyard swimming pool at an upscale American home. (Photo by: Jim Lane/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
A pair of twin toddlers drowned in the backyard pool of their Oklahoma home after their grandmother reportedly left the door open, NBC News reports.
On March 16, the grandmother, Jenny Callazzo, said she found the 18-month-old twins Locklyn and Loreli Callazzo in the pool, according to Oklahoma City Fire battalion chief Scott Douglas.
“The mother explained she was homeschooling an older child while the younger children were playing in the living room,” Douglas said. “The grandmother left the back door open, leaving an exit to the swimming pool. The mother stated the longest they could have been in the swimming pool was 10 minutes.”
The twins were rushed to a nearby hospital, where they were pronounced dead, the outlet reports.
Douglas went on to say that the family did not have a fence to block off the pool and added there was “open access” for the toddler’s to enter the pool.
NBC News reports that in Oklahoma, residential swimming pools are required to have a fence around them, at a minimum height of four feet, or 48 inches, along with self-closing safety gates.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City Police Department Captain Valerie Littlejohn told the outlet that an investigation into the toddler’s deaths remains open.
The twins’ godmother, Dawn Lemon, described the two as “inseparable” and did everything together.
“They didn’t want separate chairs. They wanted to sleep together. You never saw one without the other,” Lemon said.
The girls are survived by four siblings, including a pair of 17-year-old twin brothers.
A GoFundMe has been set up by Dawn Lemon, the girls’ godmother, which has already raised $14,243 out of a $15,000 goal. Those interested in donating to the fundraiser can do so here.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death for children ages one to four.
Upwards of 300 children under the age of five die in swimming pools every year, per the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
