An 8-year-old boy died Friday after eating strawberries from a school fundraiser.which is being investigated by Kentucky police.
The Madisonville Police Department said officers were called to a home around 6:30 a.m. Friday for an 8-year-old boy who was having trouble breathing and was unresponsive.
His parents told authorities that he “had eaten several strawberries from a high school fundraiser the night before.”
On Thursday, the boy began experiencing symptoms and his parents gave him benadryl and immersed him in a bath.
After his symptoms continued to worsen, his family took him to a local emergency room around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, but brought him back home hours later.
The police said that family called authorities after they tried to wake him up for school Friday morningbut they found him unconscious.
After the child’s death, the Hopkins County Health Department said uA preliminary autopsy report ruled that it was an “isolated allergic reaction.”
“Dr. Christopher Kiefer, medical examiner, said the strawberry incident appears to be an isolated allergic reaction,” according to Denise Beach, director of the Hopkins County Health Department.
“He says that this is a preliminary report, so we still recommend not eating strawberries for the moment,” he said in statements cited by Fox News.
Authorities did not say whether the child had pre-existing allergies to strawberries.
The health department warned the community not to eat the strawberries sold at Madisonville North Hopkins High School and Hopkins County Central High School, which were distributed by Juicy Fruit LLC, Southern Grown and Sizemore Farms.
“Currently, Department of Public Health environmentalists are taking samples of the strawberries to the state laboratory for testing,” the health department said.
The boy’s identity has not been revealed.
Keep reading:
–Disturbing new details emerge about the murder of the girl Madeline Soto in Florida
–Young Hispanic woman was found dead under a bridge in Texas: The body showed signs of abuse
–Florida model was shot to death by her ex-boyfriend while chatting with friends on FaceTime