Tuesday, April 2, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
A 6-year-old New York boy was upgraded today to critical but stable condition after nearly drowning in a backyard pool.
The Clark County Fire Department is crediting the efforts of an off-duty lifeguard who was golfing nearby with saving Keith Bowen. The man leaped over a backyard wall Monday after hearing screams of panic coming from a home at 3339 Ayita Circle, which borders the Las Vegas Hilton Country Club at Desert Inn Road.
"He pushed the dad aside when he realized the man couldn't save his son, and started CPR," said fire department spokesman Bob Leinbach. "The parents apparently got this boy out of the pool but didn't know what to do."
The golfer, it turns out, happens to be a lifeguard, Leinbach said. "He's a hero."
A 911 call placed to emergency dispatchers at 12:07 p.m. brought the Clark County Fire Department's Rescue 14 paramedic team to the house minutes later. The child had what authorities refer to as a "cardio pulse" -- a heartbeat but no breathing.
"The child was responding to pain when the team got on the road," Leinbach said. "That's a good response."
The boy was rushed to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center's pediatric intensive care unit, said Ann Lynch, hospital spokeswoman.
Keith Bowen and his family were visiting friends in anticipation of moving to Las Vegas when the accident occurred.
How the boy slipped beneath the surface of the pool and the duration of time he was submerged have not been confirmed, Leinbach said.
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