Girl in critical condition after rescue from drain on Bahia Vista Street

11:20 a.m. Aug. 25

A girl rescued from a storm drain on Sunday evening following a water-main break is in critical condition, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

The incident took place around 6:15 p.m. on Bahia Vista Street. The child, who had been playing near a drainage structure, was swept off by the fast-moving water of not only the broken pipe but also runoff from rainy weather preceding the incident. She was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

As a result of the water-pipe fracture, a portion of Bahia Vista Street at Comish Court and Arcadia Avenue collapsed into a pool of water about 4 feet deep, the sheriff’s office said. More than 3 inches of rain have fallen in that part of the area in the last week -- about 1.5 inches on Sunday alone.

Baha Vista Street was closed from Honore Avenue to Arcadia Avenue. County workers are working to rectify the situation. The roadway is open to one lane in both directions.

The incident has been assigned to a Criminal Investigation Section detective and is currently an ongoing investigation.

8 p.m. Aug. 24

A child was rescued from the Sarasota County storm-drain system and taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital after a reported water-main break Sunday afternoon along Bahia Vista Street, the Sheriff’s Office reported. 

According to a law-enforcement report from around 6:15 p.m., the child was playing near a culvert structure when fast-moving water from the water-main break in the 5400 block of Bahia Vista Street swept into the drainage system.

There was no initial word on the condition of the child. The Sheriff’s Office reported the child was rescued by Sarasota County Fire-Rescue about 100 yards west along Bahia Vista after being carried through the system.

Bahia Vista Street was closed to both directions of traffic between Honore Avenue and Arcadia Avenue. A Public Works Department team was on-site addressing the water-main break.