SC baby dead after being found in bucket of water

A baby is dead after he was found in a bucket of water at an Elgin-area home in what the coroner is calling a “tragic accident.”

Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said 1-year-old Daniel Rodriguez was found in a 5-gallon bucket of water Monday at his home on Sandy Oaks Road.

EMS transported Daniel to Palmetto Health Richland hospital where he was pronounced dead at 8:41 p.m. in the pediatric emergency department, according to a news release from the coroner’s office.

Watts said all indications point to the death being accidental.

An autopsy performed Tuesday morning indicated the baby died of asphyxiation due to drowning in the bucket of water.

Watts said it is not uncommon for babies to drown in small containers of water.

“They’ll see reflections, they’ll see something in there and learn forward,” he said. “Because the head is so heavy in infants... they can flip into it and they have no way of getting out. It can be a very dangerous situation.”

The coroner’s office and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department continue to investigate.

This story was originally published November 23, 2016 at 8:58 AM with the headline "SC baby dead after being found in bucket of water."