2 Kids Die After Getting Pulled From South Jersey Pool

MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ — Two children pulled from a swimming pool at a Gloucester County home during Memorial Day weekend have died, officials confirmed to Patch.

Monroe Township officers reported to the Woods Road home in Williamstown during the early evening on May 26. The kids — ages 11 and 14 — were hospitalized in critical condition.

Both children have since died, a spokesperson for the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office told Patch on Monday.

"It was clear, based on the investigation, that it was a tragic accident," said Thomas R. Gilbert, who is also the GCPO's acting chief of detectives.

Gilbert withheld further details out of respect for the privacy of the victims' family.

The children, who were siblings, were attending a Memorial Day weekend party, their mother told Fox 29 News Philadelphia. London Marie, 11, and Wadale, 14, were playing a pool game that involved going underwater, according to Brittney McWhite.

London Marie and Wadale spent about a week on life support before their parents made the difficult decision to pull the plug, McWhite told Fox 29. McWhite, of West Philadelphia, wants her family's story to serve as a reminder to other parents about safety during pool season.

"Always have a set of eyes. Prevent your kids from playing games. Make sure the pool is safe," McWhite told Fox 29. "Make sure if it doesn't look right, don't do it. Because once you lose your child, it is hard. It's really hard to stomach."

In a separate incident last week, a 2-year-old boy died days after he became unresponsive in a Middlesex County backyard pool, officials said.