News4JAX obtained new documents from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) that shed light on what led to the death of a 16-month-old at a now-closed Georgia day care.
Jamal Allen Bryant Jr. died after he choked on a piece of watermelon while in the care of The Kids Nest Learning Center in Brunswick.
Surveillance footage shows staff members walking around talking to each other as the children were eating watermelon, the report said.
The watermelon pieces, the report said, were cut into about 2-inch squares.
According to the documents, Bryant walked up to two staff members, and a staff member picked him up to begin patting him on his back.
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That staff member sat down and placed Bryant on their lap to continue to pat his back, the document said.
A little over two minutes passed and the staff called the front desk for assistance. The document said a faculty member came to the classroom to try to provide aid to Bryant, placing the child in several positions to try to dislodge the watermelon and regain his breathing.
Now, a little over three minutes have gone by, and they called 911.
Around eight minutes later, rescue crews arrived and about 14 minutes later, Bryant was rushed to hospital. Then, his parents got the call.
“It was very poor communication on their end notifying us what was going on. It was just a phone call and told us to meet them at the emergency, that was it,” Jamal Bryant, the child’s father said.
According to DECAL Inspection reports, the facility has faced a few problems, and one deals with First Aid and CPR.
His parents were hopeful that the 16-month-old would push through, but that wasn’t the case.
“Of course, we had high hopes that he [would] be alright and you know just get himself together and will go back there with him. We will never go back to that day care again. We’ll try to figure something out,” Taylor Hicks, Bryant’s mother, said.
DECAL is investigating and issued an emergency closure for the child care facility.