- Toddler near-drowned in Arizona was mistakenly declared dead and taken to morgue
- First responders found the child face-down in a pool and gave emergency care
- Hospital staff treated the toddler, but he was still placed in the morgue cold room
An 18-month-old toddler mistakenly declared dead after a near-drowning in Gilbert, Arizona, was found breathing hours later in a hospital morgue. On February 8, the child's family discovered him face-down in a backyard pool. First responders arrived at the home around 5:30 pm and administered life-saving measures before rushing him to the emergency room.
Although the police officers saw possible signs of life multiple times, the toddler was still taken to the hospital's "cold room" after being treated by staff.
"Please do your thing and let me do my thing," Dr Aryan Toosi told an officer at one point, according to the recently released police records. "I went to medical school for a reason."
A transporter from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office arrived at the hospital five hours later and found the child was still breathing, according to police.
Subsequently, the toddler was flown to another hospital, where he recovered and has since been released.
"Out of courtesy to the family and patient confidentiality, we respectfully decline to make a statement at this time," Scott Holden, the doctor's attorney, was quoted as saying by the BBC.
According to the police report, investigators said there was a strong smell of marijuana at the home, which led them to believe the child could have had unsupervised access to the pool.
“Both admitted to smoking marijuana the morning of the drowning,” the report states.
The toddler's family has set up a crowdfunding page to help with the medical costs. As per the page, Vincent is breathing with the assistance of a ventilator. He has avoided serious brain damage but will require ongoing medical monitoring and extensive therapy.
