Arizona toddler declared dead after near-drowning was alive for hours in ‘cold room’, records say
A toddler who was declared dead after being discovered in a backyard pool in February was actually alive and found hours later in a room that serves as the hospital morgue, recently released police records show.
Two Gilbert police officers saw possible signs of life multiple times, but the child was still taken to the hospital’s “cold room” after being treated by staff, according to the documents.
“Please do your thing and let me do my thing,” Dr Aryan Toosi told an officer at one point, according to the report. “I went to medical school for a reason.”
First responders were dispatched to the home at about 5.30pm on 8 February in response to a reported drowning. They performed life-saving measures on the child before taking him to a hospital where the boy was pronounced dead about an hour later.
About five hours later, police were notified that the child was indeed breathing, and he was flown to another hospital. The boy ultimately survived and has been released.
Gilbert police are recommending negligence charges against the parents. Investigators said there was a strong odor of marijuana at the home and open doors that could have allowed unsupervised access to the pool. The Maricopa county attorney’s office said it was reviewing the case and declined further comment Monday.
In 911 calls, two relatives frantically reported that the child had been pulled from the pool as people at the scene could be heard shrieking. One caller reported the toddler was unconscious.
Mercy Gilbert medical center, where the 18-month-old was taken, said in a statement that the hospital conducted “a thorough review of all aspects of the care provided to learn what happened and to make meaningful changes to strengthen our care”.
The hospital called it “a heartbreaking situation” and declined to release further details.
When a team from the local medical examiner’s office arrived in the so-called cold room, they found the boy breathing and rushed him to another hospital, police said.
Scott Holden, an attorney for Toosi, told the AP that he wouldn’t make a full statement on behalf of the doctor “other than to assure you that there is much more to this case, both factually and medically, than has been reported thus far”.
A GoFundMe page, which was created in February to help the boy’s family with medical bills, said the toddler would need extensive therapy.
“Thank you for your prayers, your kindness, and your support for baby Vincent – our miracle fighter,” the page says.
An ABC affiliate in Phoenix, KNXV-TV, was the first to report the story.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
An 18-month-old boy was discovered unresponsive in a backyard pool in Gilbert, Arizona on 8 February. First responders performed life-saving measures and transported him to Mercy Gilbert medical center, where he was pronounced dead approximately one hour after arrival. Police records indicate that responding officers observed multiple signs of possible life. Despite these observations, the child was placed in the hospital's morgue facility. About five hours later, when a team from the medical examiner's office arrived at the morgue, they found the boy breathing. He was immediately transferred to another hospital and survived. Investigators found marijuana odor and open doors at the home and recommended negligence charges against the parents. The hospital stated it conducted a thorough review of care. The boy has since been released and requires ongoing therapy.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
A toddler who was declared dead after being discovered in a backyard pool in February was actually alive and found hours later in a room that serves as the hospital morgue, recently released police records show.
Two Gilbert police officers saw possible signs of life multiple times, but the child was still taken to the hospital’s “cold room” after being treated by staff, according to the documents.
“Please do your thing and let me do my thing,” Dr Aryan Toosi told an officer at one point, according to the report. “I went to medical school for a reason.”
First responders were dispatched to the home at about 5.30pm on 8 February in response to a reported drowning. They performed life-saving measures on the child before taking him to a hospital where the boy was pronounced dead about an hour later.
About five hours later, police were notified that the child was indeed breathing, and he was flown to another hospital. The boy ultimately survived and has been released.
Gilbert police are recommending negligence charges against the parents. Investigators said there was a strong odor of marijuana at the home and open doors that could have allowed unsupervised access to the pool. The Maricopa county attorney’s office said it was reviewing the case and declined further comment Monday.
In 911 calls, two relatives frantically reported that the child had been pulled from the pool as people at the scene could be heard shrieking. One caller reported the toddler was unconscious.
Mercy Gilbert medical center, where the 18-month-old was taken, said in a statement that the hospital conducted “a thorough review of all aspects of the care provided to learn what happened and to make meaningful changes to strengthen our care”.
The hospital called it “a heartbreaking situation” and declined to release further details.
When a team from the local medical examiner’s office arrived in the so-called cold room, they found the boy breathing and rushed him to another hospital, police said.
Scott Holden, an attorney for Toosi, told the AP that he wouldn’t make a full statement on behalf of the doctor “other than to assure you that there is much more to this case, both factually and medically, than has been reported thus far”.
A GoFundMe page, which was created in February to help the boy’s family with medical bills, said the toddler would need extensive therapy.
“Thank you for your prayers, your kindness, and your support for baby Vincent – our miracle fighter,” the page says.
An ABC affiliate in Phoenix, KNXV-TV, was the first to report the story.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
An 18-month-old boy was pulled from a backyard pool on 8 February in Gilbert, Arizona First responders performed life-saving measures before transporting the child to Mercy Gilbert medical center The child was pronounced dead approximately one hour after hospital arrival Police officers observed possible signs of life multiple times during initial response and treatment The child was placed in the hospital's morgue ('cold room') after being pronounced dead About five hours after pronouncement of death, medical examiner staff found the boy breathing The child was transferred to another hospital and survived Police investigators found marijuana odor and open doors at the home Gilbert police recommended negligence charges against the parents The hospital described the situation as 'heartbreaking' and stated it conducted a thorough review to strengthen care The child requires extensive therapy following the incident The survival represents a remarkable recovery in an unusual medical situation
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
- An 18-month-old boy was pulled from a backyard pool in Gilbert, Arizona on 8 February and pronounced dead at Mercy Gilbert medical center about an hour after arrival
- Police officers observed possible signs of life multiple times, but the child was placed in the hospital's morgue ('cold room')
- About five hours after being declared dead, medical examiner staff found the boy breathing and transferred him to another hospital, where he survived
- Gilbert police are recommending negligence charges against the parents; the hospital has stated it conducted a review of care provided
- The boy has been released and his family created a GoFundMe page noting he will require extensive therapy