Baby and adult die hours apart at shopping centre
Emergency responders were called to two separate incidents in Menlo Park on Monday, one involving a baby who choked on a lollipop and another, where a shopper had collapsed and died.
Two tragic incidents occurred just hours apart at Menlo Park shopping centre on Monday, October 13, resulting in the deaths of a baby and an adult.
The first incident occurred on Monday afternoon, when the little child died after choking on a lollipop.
Old East Safety Forum community responders were dispatched shortly before 16:50 after reports of an unresponsive baby inside the store.
According to forum spokesperson, Jarad Frimmel, responders found that the infant had been choking on a lollipop.
“The obstruction was successfully removed, and resuscitation efforts were immediately initiated,” he said.
Paramedics from Netcare911, Emer-G-Med, ProMed, and Pretoria Volunteer Emergency Services soon arrived and continued with advanced life support.
“Despite extensive efforts from all medical teams, the infant was sadly declared deceased on scene,” said Frimmel.
Members of SAPS Brooklyn and Mon Ami Trauma Troops also attended to assist and secure the scene.
Earlier that day, at around 10:00, emergency responders were called to a separate unrelated incident at the same shopping centre in Menlo Park where an adult had collapsed.
According to Volunteer Emergency Medical Response Unit spokesperson Casper Visser, the patient was found in cardiac arrest.
“On arrival, our team, along with crews from ER24 and Emer-G-Med, took over from bystanders from a nearby pharmacy who had initiated CPR.
“After almost an hour of resuscitation, there were no signs of life, and the patient was declared deceased,” Visser said.
He thanked all the responding teams for their assistance and confirmed that police were on scene.
Police spokesperson Marinda Austin confirmed the first incident.
Austin said the infant was a 13-month-old and police were investigating an inquest.
*Please note this article has been amended.
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