toddler

By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

A wave of grief has swept through a Lachine neighbourhood following a devastating accident that claimed the lives of a 34-year-old mother and her three-year-old son last week.

Emergency crews rushed to a home near the corner of 20th Avenue and Provost Street responding to a call about two people found unresponsive in a residential pool. First responders arrived within minutes, but efforts to revive both the woman and her son were unsuccessful. Their deaths were confirmed at the scene.

Neighbours describe a sudden tragedy: the young boy, who did not know how to swim, ended up in the pool. His mother, in a desperate attempt to save her child, jumped in after him. She also could not swim. Within moments, both were submerged.

Police established a perimeter around the home while investigators tried to reconstruct the sequence of events. The incident was ruled an accident, and the file has been transferred to the Quebec coroner’s office for further review.

The Lachine neighbourhood is left reeling with the reminder of how quickly the ordinary can turn tragic.

Another recent tragedy involving a mother and child in Quebec waters occurred just days earlier, in the Mauricie region. A woman lost her life when the watercraft she was on capsized. A child who was with her was pulled from the water in critical condition.

Despite the efforts of first responders, the woman could not be saved. The child remains hospitalized in critical condition. The Quebec provincial police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Last summer, The Suburban reported on the story of Catherine Couture from Coteaux-du-Lac, whose toddler nearly drowned after slipping back into the pool during a family lunch break. In a matter of seconds, what should have been an ordinary afternoon nearly turned tragic. Fortunately, her daughter survived. Like many parents who have faced similar scares, Couture chose to share her experience publicly, hoping to remind others how quickly drowning can happen—even when adults are nearby. n