FORT WORTH (WBAP/KLIF News) – The family of a Fort Worth Pre-K student who died suddenly while at school said her death could have been prevented.
5-year-old Belen Maldonado choked on her food in the lunchroom at Worth Heights Elementary School last Thursday.
She was taken to Cook Children’s Medical Center where she later died. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner said that she died from aspiration of food.
District spokesman Clint Bond said the staff did all they could to save her until professional help arrived. He said all of its schools have personnel trained in CPR and the Heimlich maneuver.
Maldonado’s older sister Lucy Gonzales told WFAA TV her sister might still be alive if the proper procedures had been in place. “I’m not saying it’s their fault that she choked, but if there was somebody that had the knowledge to help her, it could have been prevented,” she said.
A GoFundMe campaign is raising money to help pay for Maldonado’s funeral. The campaign has almost reached its $10,000.00 goal.
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