A 7-month old baby girl has died after falling into a bucket of water and bleach in her Hartford home and the medical examiner has ruled her death accidental.
Police said the baby, Kehlany Ramirez, lived in a home on Hamilton Street surrounded by loving family.
Her mother and a 16-year-old sibling were watching her Wednesday and didn’t realize Kehlany was following one of them as they walked through the kitchen and into the bathroom., according to police
As the family member was in the bathroom, tragedy struck.
Kehlany crawled up to the bucket, which was filled with gallons of water and bleach to clean the kitchen floor, and fell in.
Police responded to the home at 10:04 p.m. Wednesday after receiving a 911 call about an unresponsive baby and officers immediately began administering CPR.
EMS then rushed Kehlany to Connecticut Children's Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.
Local
“Young children are top heavy and so if they fall over, even in very little water they can drown,” Kevin Borrup, associate director of injury prevention center at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, said.
Detectives from the Major Crimes Division, Special Investigations Division and Crime Scene Division, responded and assumed the investigation.
After interviews and searching the home, detectives said it appeared the baby’s death is a tragic accident.
“We hope people can just use this as a moment to realize just how quickly tragedy like this can strike a family,” Deputy Police Chief Brian Foley said.
The medical examiner has determined the baby’s death was accidental and no charges will be filed, according to police.
Experts say avoiding a drowning death starts with being aware of your child’s surroundings.
“We don’t think of something like a bucket of water as being dangerous and probably most parents hear about a story like this and think this could have been me,” Borrup said.
Police said the family is distraught and one member is receiving medical attention because of what happened. This has also been difficult for officers who responded to the scene.
Editor’s Note: Police originally said the baby was 8 months old.
