Unfortunate accident claims infant

An unfortunate accident claims the life of 20-day-old Tucker David Procell in the early morning hours of Jan. 24, according to a report from Asst. Coroner Ron Rivers.

The deceased had been transported to Sabine Medical Center from a White Oak Drive residence completely unresponsive.

The night prior, the mother had been up all day tending to the young child and doing normal household work. After midnight, she decided to sleep on the couch, and placed the child on her chest.

During the night, the mother got up to fix a bottle before going back on the couch again with the child on her chest.

It wasn’t until 5:15 a.m. that the mother awoke to find the child unresponsive and not breathing. The mother and another family member immediately began CPR until first responders and MedExpress could arrive. They continued administering CPR en route to SMC, where life sustaining efforts were furthered. After they were unable to regain a heart beat, the child was pronounced deceased.

After a lengthy interview alongside detectives from the Sheriff’s Dept., it was determined that due to exhaustion the mother didn’t realize the child had slid from her chest, becoming wedged between the mother and backrest of the couch, preventing the infant from breathing properly.

Rivers noted that upon viewing the body, he could see the markings of being wedged, with no other signs of trauma noted. An autopsy was also performed later the same morning to confirm what the mother had stated.

At the current time, there is no suspicion of foul play in the child’s death. The manner of death will also be determined following the study of slides taken during the autopsy.