
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 26, 1994                    TAG: 9406260144 
SECTION: LOCAL                     PAGE: B4    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: NEWPORT NEWS 
DATELINE: 940626                                 LENGTH: Short

BOY DIES IN JACUZZI

{LEAD} A 3-year-old boy drowned Saturday afternoon after falling into a jacuzzi at the Coral Key Apartments, police said.

Micah Berkebile fell into the 4-foot jacuzzi before his parents realized what had happened, said Lynn James, spokesperson for the Newport News Police.

{REST} The boy's parents were at a pool next to the jacuzzi when the accident happened. Sitting at the edge, they had turned around to check on the boy just before the accident, James said.

The couple had taken flotation devices off the boy's arms to apply suntan lotion. They had not put the inflatable ``wings'' back on before turning around to talk, James said.

Paramedics received the call at 3:57 p.m. for a drowning at the complex, located at Oyster Point Road and Jefferson Avenue. The boy was transported to Riverside Regional Medical Center at 4:24 p.m. and died a short time later.

{KEYWORDS} ACCIDENT GENERAL DROWNING FATALITIES

by CNB