PHOENIX (AP) — Newly released police records reveal a shocking series of events that unfolded in February when an 18-month-old boy was pulled from a backyard pool in a Phoenix suburb, pronounced dead at a hospital, and then discovered breathing hours later in the facility’s cold room.
According to the documents, two Gilbert police officers observed what appeared to be signs of life on multiple occasions, yet the child was still transferred to the hospital’s cold room following treatment by medical staff.
At one point during the incident, Dr. Aryan Toosi reportedly told an officer, “Please do your thing and let me do my thing. I went to medical school for a reason,” according to the police report.
Emergency responders were called to the home around 5:30 p.m. on February 8 after a drowning was reported. They performed life-saving efforts on the toddler before transporting him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead roughly an hour after arrival.
Approximately five hours after that declaration, police received word that the child was actually breathing. He was then airlifted to a different hospital and ultimately survived, later being discharged.
Gilbert police are now recommending that negligence charges be filed against the boy’s parents. Investigators noted a strong smell of marijuana inside the home and found open doors that may have allowed the child to reach the pool without supervision. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office confirmed it is reviewing the case but declined to comment further on Monday.
In 911 calls from that evening, two relatives desperately reported that the child had been pulled from the pool, with screaming audible in the background. One caller said the toddler was unconscious.
When an Associated Press photographer visited the home where the near-drowning took place on Monday, no one answered the door.
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, where the toddler was initially treated, released a statement saying the hospital completed “a thorough review of all aspects of the care provided to learn what happened and to make meaningful changes to strengthen our care.” The hospital described the incident as “a heartbreaking situation” and did not provide additional details.
It was a team from the local medical examiner’s office that discovered the boy breathing when they arrived at the cold room, at which point he was quickly rushed to another hospital, police said.
Scott Holden, an attorney representing Dr. Toosi, told the AP that he would not issue a full statement on the doctor’s behalf, but wanted “to assure you that there is much more to this case, both factually and medically, than has been reported thus far.”
A GoFundMe campaign launched in February to assist the family with medical costs noted that the toddler would require extensive therapy going forward. “Thank you for your prayers, your kindness, and your support for baby Vincent — our miracle fighter,” the page reads.
KNXV-TV, an ABC affiliate based in Phoenix, was the first outlet to break the story.
This is not the first time someone has been found alive after being declared dead. In 2020, Timesha Beauchamp, a 20-year-old woman with cerebral palsy from Southfield, Michigan, was pronounced dead by a doctor over the phone after paramedics responded to a 911 call at her family’s home. A funeral home later opened the body bag and found her gasping for air. She was rushed to a hospital but never recovered and passed away two months later. The city of Southfield eventually settled a negligence lawsuit brought by her family for $3.25 million.
