7-year-old killed, 14-year-old injured in freak swing set accident

A 7-year-old girl was killed and a 14-year-old companion was hurt after a freak swing set accident. A swing set near an Arizona backyard swimming pool collapsed Sunday morning, Gilbert Police said.

The two girls were swinging on a rope attached to the wooden structure when it broke and part of it fell on the 7-year-old, knocking both of them into the water at a home near the 2900 block of E. Arrow Head Trail, Gilbert Fire Capt. Gary Hildebrandt said.

The swing set is made to allow people to jump off the rope and into the pool.

Adults inside the house said they heard the wooden structure break at around 9:30 a.m. They ran outside and pulled the 7-year-old girl from the water.

When paramedics arrived, one of the adults, a doctor, was performing CPR, Hildebrandt said.

The teenager was in critical condition at a local hospital. The 7-year-old was airlifted to Children’s Phoenix Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Authorities said the girls were visiting the home at the time of the accident.