A 2-year-old Fort Collins boy choked to death after swallowing a small bead at a day-care center last week.
The Larimer County coroner’s office and Fort Collins police have ruled the death an accident.
Dean Beers, deputy coroner, said staff at the Ridgewood Day School noticed Jerome Nelson Jr. in distress during activities at the school on Wednesday.
“It was explained to me that he was struggling with his breathing, reaching for his neck, his throat,” Beers said.
The staff immediately performed the Heimlich maneuver and cardiopulmonary resuscitation until medical personnel arrived, he said.
The boy was taken to Poudre Valley Hospital, then transferred to Children’s Hospital in Denver.
“They worked for hours into the early hours of (Thursday) morning to resuscitate him,” Beers said.
The boy was pronounced dead at 2:21 a.m. Thursday.
Lt. Hal Dean, head of detectives with the police, said the case would be reviewed with the Department of Human Services “to make sure all parts of the investigation have been covered.”
“We believe it was accidental,” Dean said.
