Heartbreak: Four-year-old Pinckneyville girl dies in Children's Hospital Tuesday morning after Monday accident in backyard swimming pool

A four-year-old Pinckneyville girl died Tuesday morning in Children's Hospital in St. Louis after local police officers, Perry County Ambulance Service medics and medical personnel at the Pinckneyville Community Hospital did everything possible to try to save her.

The child is identified as Taylor Laxton, daughter of Mary Laxton, said to be an employee of the Fairview Healthcare Center in Du Quoin.

Taylor was swimming at the home of Pinckneyville Police Department officer Jamie Benbrook Monday afternoon. Her mother was with her.

Stories differ slightly, but the newspaper understands that the child had been under adult supervision the whole time.

The youngster had been wearing either arm "floaties," commonly worn by young swimmers or a child's life vest.

The newspaper understands that the child may have gotten out of the pool to run inside the home for a short time.

Unbeknownst to the adults who had supervised her earlier, she got back into the pool without floatation safeguards and was found under water.

Those close to the tragedy felt she could have been under water for 10 or more minutes.

She was pulled from the pool at approximately 2 p.m. and a Pinckneyville policeman was one of the first to provide CPR in an attempt to revive her.

By that time the Pinckneyville Ambulance Service had dispatched three medics to the scene including ambulance service director and medic Shane Malawy.

The Benbrooks live on Rt. 13/127 south of Pinckneyville near the Perry County Highway Department.

Medics worked with the youngster and restored a weak pulse. Emergency room personnel at Pinckneyville Community Hospital worked alongside the ambulance team while notifying Children's Hospital (which is affiliated with Barnes Hospital) of their drowning victim.

Children's Hospital's own pediatric response team was picked up in St. Louis by an Arch medical evacuation helicopter team and flown into Pinckneyville where they prepared the child for transport to St. Louis.

In St. Louis, medical personnel worked through the night and into the early morning hours to try to restore her breathing and brain function, but lost hope and the child died Tuesday morning.

Members of the Pinckneyville Police Department--like everyone else--are heartbroken by the turn of events and remind parents and family members to do all that they can to watch over children during backyard pool gatherings.