AURORA, Colo.-
A teenager died and her younger brother was hospitalized after they were found unconscious in a condominium swimming pool in this east Denver suburb, authorities said.
Authorities believe Bethlehem Gezaee, 16, may have died trying to save her 11-year-old brother, Yacob Gezaee, on Monday.
Yacob was on life-support in the pediatric intensive-care unit at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center in Denver Tuesday, hospital spokeswoman Angie Anania said.
Police said Bethlehem’s death was an accident. The Arapahoe County coroner’s office did not immediately release the cause of death.
A neighbor at Raintree East Condominiums saw the pair unconscious in the pool at about 5:30 p.m., according to Aurora police.
The boy was wearing swim trunks but Bethlehem was in street clothes, authorities said. “One could speculate she was trying to save her brother and jumped in,” detective Bob Friel said Monday, “but we don’t have any witnesses, so it’s only speculation.”
Their parents, who were at work at the time, were asked to return home because of an emergency involving the children but were not told what happened until they arrived, Friel said.
“They were so distraught, wailing and crying,” Friel said. “It was heartbreaking.”
