NEW YORK (RNN) – A 3-year-old boy is dead after he was allegedly given a grilled cheese sandwich at school, despite staff knowing the child had a severe dairy allergy.
Elijah Silvera was given the sandwich in his pre-K class at Seventh Avenue Center for Family Services in Harlem on Nov. 3. Elijah went into anaphylactic shock, WPIX reports. The school had documentation of the allergy on file.
The New York City Health Department shut down the school until further notice as they investigate Elijah’s death.
"There is nothing more important than the safety of our children and we are deeply saddened by this tragedy. We will get to the bottom of what happened here. In the meantime, we’re closing the Center for Family Services and continuing to aggressively investigate what happened and whether the facility could have done something differently to prevent this tragedy,” the agency said in a statement.
We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of 3-year-old Elijah Silvera and are actively investigating all aspects of this EarlyLearn program, along w/ @nycHealthy. In the meantime, @nychealthy has closed the Center for Family Services & is continuing to aggressively investigate. https://t.co/ZI4G3Kg7e3
— NYC ACS (@ACSNYC) November 9, 2017
The school reportedly called Elijah’s mother instead of an ambulance. His mother rushed Elijah to the hospital, where he died.
Elijah’s family set up a GoFundMe site to pay for funeral expenses and a second autopsy, which the family is seeking to discover if any "breakdowns may have occurred at either the school or the hospital."
“Our family is only beginning the long and painful process of adjusting to a world that does not include Elijah in it. As we ease into this unthinkable reality and say goodbye to our sweet, joyful Elijah,” the family posted on the fundraising site.
Elijah is survived by his mother Dina, father Thomas and his 5-year-old brother Sebastian.
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