A girl from Missouri, eight years old, became “ill and unresponsive” on a SkyWest flight to Chicago on Thursday. She was later declared dead, according to the police.
The plane took off from Joplin, Missouri, and was on its way to Chicago when it had to make an emergency stop in Peoria, Illinois.
“Her family told the flight crew right away about her condition, and they started helping her right away.” A statement from the Peoria County Coroner’s Office says, “When she got to Peoria, she wasn’t breathing and had no pulse.”
The coroner’s office said the child was named Sydney Weston and was from Carl Junction, Missouri.
Around 7 a.m., the plane had to stop at the General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport because of a medical emergency, the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook Thursday.
The child was taken to a local hospital and later declared dead, according to the sheriff’s office. Emergency workers, including deputies and the Air National Guard, tried to “save his life.”
According to SkyWest Airlines, the child was on United Express flight 5121 from Joplin to Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Friday. The flight was rerouted to Peoria because a passenger got sick.
There, she was “met by paramedics to help a passenger who was unconscious.” “We appreciate the quick actions of our crew members who came to help and the medical staff who met the plane,” SkyWest said.
The coroner’s office said the girl died just after 8 a.m.
The coroner’s office said in a statement Friday that there were no signs of abuse or neglect and no proof of foul play.
A preliminary autopsy, on the other hand, was not conclusive “and pending several studies,” the report said.
The medical staff is waiting for tests in poisons, hematology, biopsies, cultures, and blood chemistry and hematology. It usually takes four to six weeks to see results.
“Once we have those tests completed, we hope that we will be able to provide a definitive and exact cause of death for this little girl and give her family some answers,” the coroner’s office said.
On Friday, the family of Sydney Weston could not be reached right away for comment.
Source: NBC News
