A toddler tragically died after choking on a piece of banana right before his bedtime. The 2-year-old boy was reportedly given two slices of bananas instead of his usual bedtime bottle by his mother on the night of his death. After giving two pieces of the fruit to her son, the mom left the room for no more than 30 seconds but on returning she was shocked to see her son choking on the banana.
“I quickly realized something was wrong. He was flapping his arms around and I could see he was choking,” said the devastated mother in a statement, according to reports. A court heard how the mother, Danielle Butterley, patted her son’s back and “was trying anything” to revive him. “I was trying anything. I can’t describe the sound that came from him,” she added. The 30-year-old mother immediately called authorities as she struggled to dislodge the slice of banana in her son’s, Dylan Greig, throat.
Next, she followed the instructions provided by ambulance control on how to help her baby boy. Ultimately, she found a piece of banana in her son’s throat that had been “completely stuck fast and wasn’t moving.” After being alerted about the emergency, Butterley’s brother-in-law, Brian Williams, who was on duty that night, rushed to the home without realizing that it was his nephew who was in a dire condition.
On arriving at the scene, Williams said he was incredibly shocked to enter the home of his wife’s sister who was carrying out chest compressions on my two-year-old nephew at that point. He quickly, led Danielle to another room while the paramedics attempted to resuscitate the baby. Dylan was then transported to hospital, but unfortunately he passed away later that evening, according to reports.
“I will never be able to forget that night,” expressed Williams of the heartbreaking night. During the inquest, senior coroner John Gittins read Danielle’s statement and expressed his deepest condolences. “I can’t imagine for one second how difficult that must have been for you,” Gittins told her.
He went on to note that the banana was given to the baby in an “entirely appropriate” and normal way. Finally, he concluded his report by ruling Dylan’s demise as an accidental death by hypoxic cardiac arrest which was caused by choking on a slice of banana. “This was a tragic set of events that ultimately led to the loss of this two-year-old,” shared Gittins.
Boy, two, died by choking on piece of banana, inquest hears https://t.co/duMZLclAHi
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) December 15, 2021