An 8-year-old dies after becoming ill during a flight
By Raja Razek and Sara Smart, CNN
(CNN) — A girl traveling to Chicago with her family on a commercial airline died on Thursday morning after becoming ill during the flight, according to Peoria County Coroner’s Office.
“The child, 8-year-old Sydney Weston, of Carl Junction, MO, was traveling with her family for vacation when she suddenly became ill and then unresponsive in flight,” the Peoria County Coroner’s Office said on behalf of the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office in a post on Facebook. “Her family immediately notified the flight personnel of her condition, and they began rapidly rendering aid.”
The Peoria County Sheriff’s Office said in the post that they responded Thursday at 7:00 a.m. to a medical emergency on a flight landing in Peoria.
“The commercial flight originated from Joplin, Missouri and was intended to land in Chicago,” the sheriff’s office said.
The girl was not breathing and had no pulse upon landing in Peoria, according to the post from the coroner’s office.
The girl was “transported to OSF Healthcare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, where, despite aggressive resuscitative efforts, she was pronounced deceased at 8:05 a.m.,” the sheriff’s office said.
A preliminary autopsy was inconclusive as to the cause of death, according to the coroner’s office.
The Peoria County Coroner’s Office said in a post on Facebook there was “no evidence of foul play and no signs of abuse or neglect.”
Further tests will be conducted and the results may be available in four to six weeks, the coroner’s office said.
“Once we have those tests completed, it is our 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 added.
SkyWest Airlines told CNN in an email that the flight “diverted to Peoria, IL this morning and was met by paramedics to attend to a passenger in medical distress. We appreciate the efforts of our crewmembers who responded quickly to assist and the medical personnel who met the aircraft.”
CNN has reached out to authorities and officials as well as the family’s representative for more information.
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