Police term baby's death an accident, but state will investigate
Buffalo Grove police officials said the death of an 11-month-old child Sunday was an accident, but the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services continues to investigate an allegation of neglect made against the parents.
The child, of the 1000 block of Knollwood Drive, was left unattended for moments July 1 in an infant tub inside a larger bath tub when he flipped forward out of his seat and into the bathtub filled with water, said Cmdr. Steve Husak of the Buffalo Grove Police Department.
He said the child was left unattended for only moments due to a miscommunication between the parents.
The unresponsive child was taken to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights before being airlifted on life support to Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Husak said the parents turned off life support on the child at 11:04 a.m. Sunday, and the child was pronounced dead.
An autopsy performed Monday determined the child died because of drowning, an official from the Cook County medical examiner's office said.
Husak said police investigated the incident, interviewing the parents, family members and neighbors, and that no signs of abuse or neglect were reported.
"This was clearly just a miscommunication between the parents on who was supposed to be watching the child at the time," Husak said. "It's definitely a tragedy that they did leave the infant alone and it's unfortunate, but throughout our investigation, it was determined to be purely accidental."
DCFS spokesman Jimmie Whitelow said the agency began its investigation after receiving a call on its hotline July 1, the same day as the child's drowning.
Whitelow said the caller made an allegation of neglect against the family. He added it is department policy not to divulge the identity of anyone reporting abuse or neglect. Whitelow said he could not say how long the investigation could last before a determination is made.
"DCFS has had no prior contact with this family before this incident," Whitelow said.