4-year-old drowns in Somerset County lake before start of movie night, officials say – NJ.com

A 4-year-old boy died Friday evening despite the attempts of bystanders and first responders to save him with CPR after he was pulled from a lake in Bridgewater.

Bridgewater police said Monday they received a 911 call at 8:37 p.m. on Aug. 6 reporting a child drowned in Sunset Lake in the area of North Shore Drive, according to a joint statement from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and the Bridgewater Township Police Department.

When they arrived, officers saw bystanders administering CPR on the child, who identified only as a Bridgewater resident. The officers took over for the bystanders in an attempt to revive him, the office said. EMS was called and rushed the boy to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy performed Sunday by New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office found the child’s death an accident by drowning, police said. The final autopsy report and its findings remained pending Monday afternoon.

Further circumstances of the boy’s entry into the water were unclear Monday. A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.

The lake has a swimming area which is under lifeguard supervision during swimming hours, according to the Sunset Lake Association.

The boy was identified on a GoFundMe page as Kyle Meyers. Michael Mclaughlin, president of the Sunset Lake Association, created the fundraiser.

“Our members took heroic action to try and save his life prior to the arrival of emergency services and the police, and I am grateful for their efforts,” Mclaughlin wrote on the page. “This occurred immediately before movie night was to begin and several of our members and their children played with Kyle in the hour or so before events unfolded.”

Mclaughlin said members of the association were planning on creating a memorial service or candlelight vigil for Kyle.

Investigators asked anyone with information on the drowning to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office at 908-231-7100 or the Bridgewater Township Police Department at 908-722-4111 or via the STOPit app.

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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.