Toddler declared dead found breathing hours later in hospital morgue cold room | World | News
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center in Arizona (Image: AP)
An Arizona toddler found in a pool in February was declared dead but discovered breathing hours later in a hospital morgue, according to released police records. Two local Gilbert police officers in Arizona noted possible signs of life on several distinct occasions, but the child was still unfortunately taken to the hospital’s designated “cold room” after receiving initial treatment by medical staff, the newly released official documents show.
Dr Aryan Toosi told an officer at one point, according to the report: “Please do your thing and let me do my thing. I went to medical school for a reason.” Emergency services were called to the home at about 5.30pm on February 8 following reports of a drowning. Paramedics carried out life-saving measures on the child before transporting him to hospital, where the boy was pronounced dead roughly an hour later.
Around five hours after that, police were informed that the child was breathing, and he was transferred by air ambulance to another hospital. The boy ultimately survived and has since been discharged.
Gilbert Police are recommending charges of negligence against the parents. Investigators reported a strong smell of cannabis at the property and open doors that may have allowed the unsupervised toddler access to the pool. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is currently reviewing the case and declined to comment further on Monday.
In 911 calls, two relatives desperately reported that the child had been pulled from the pool, with audible screaming in the background. One caller said the toddler was unconscious.
No one answered when a photographer from the Associated Press called at the home on Monday.
The hospital where the 18-month-old was first taken, Mercy Gilbert Medical Centre in Arizona, said in an official public statement that it had carried out “a thorough review of all aspects of the care provided to learn what happened and to make meaningful changes to strengthen our care.”
It described the incident as “a heartbreaking situation” and declined to release further details.
When staff from the local medical examiner’s office arrived at the so-called cold room, they discovered the boy breathing and immediately arranged for his transfer to another facility, police said.
Scott Holden, a solicitor representing Dr Toosi, told the local AP that he would not issue a full statement on behalf of the doctor other than to assure: “There is much more to this case, both factually and medically, than has been reported thus far.”
A GoFundMe page set up in February to help the family with medical costs noted that the toddler would require extensive therapy.
The page reads: “Thank you for your prayers, your kindness, and your support for baby Vincent — our miracle fighter.”
A local KNXV-TV report was among the first breaking this story.
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There have been other cases of people discovered alive after being declared dead. In Southfield, Michigan, in the United States, Timesha Beauchamp, a 20-year-old woman with cerebral palsy, was declared dead by a doctor over the phone in 2020. Paramedics had responded to a 911 call at her family home.
Later that day, staff at a funeral home opened the body bag and found her gasping for air. She was rushed to hospital but never fully recovered and died two months later. The city settled a negligence lawsuit brought by the family for £2.5 million.
