LEWISTON — The apparent drowning over the weekend of a 10-month-old boy was called a “tragic accident,” police said.
Rene Cloutier of 53 Fairmount St. died Sunday at Maine Medical Center in Portland after life support was removed, Maine State Police Lt. Brian McDonough said.
Cloutier’s mother, Natasha Bean, was giving her baby a bath Saturday night when she was interrupted by a neighbor, McDonough said. The mother left Cloutier in the bathtub for a “few minutes” before returning. When she did, the baby was submerged in the water.
He had a “very weak pulse and was unresponsive” when he was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. He was later flown to Portland, where he was put on life support, McDonough said.
The baby’s mother and father, Rene Cloutier Sr., were in the home at the time, as well as a 5-year-old sibling.
McDonough said autopsy results were consistent with the story of the accidental drowning. There were no unusual findings, he said.
“All indications are this is a tragic accident,” he said.
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