The adorable 1-year-old baby girl who drowned in a pool at a Bronx day care center while her carer was allegedly cooking has now been identified — as her grief-stricken parents demand answers over the “unimaginable tragedy.”
River Edima Wilson was found unconscious in the above-ground pool at Anna’s Butterfly Garden Family Group on Story Ave. in Castle Hill just before 1 p.m. on Friday, cops and sources said.
The sweet girl apparently fell into the pool when the 47-year-old woman who was meant to be watching her was distracted as she also cooked for around 20 minutes, according to the sources.
Her parents, Ima and Ifiok Wilson, are now accusing the day care of neglecting their baby — questioning how the tiny tot could have even been left unattended for such a long period in the first place.
“What happened to my sweet baby?” her sobbing mom told News 12 on Monday.
“We thought she was safe,” River’s dad added.
The family also claims that the day care center has been ignoring them and their requests for answers.
“They trusted [the day care] to protect and care for their child but they catastrophically failed them by allowing River to drown,” a family statement obtained by NBC4 stated of the “unimaginable tragedy.”
“The day care has compounded the pain of River’s passing by completely ignoring the family’s efforts to contact them. River’s family deserves to know what happened to their baby girl but the day care has refused to provide any information or communicate with the family.”
“The only comment from the day care seems to be the completely implausible (but still inexcusable) explanation they gave to the media.”
The child was already unconscious and unresponsive when officers arrived at the scene following the initial 911 call, cops said.
A former police officer was visiting one of the infant’s neighbors when he heard the commotion unfold and rushed over to help.
“There was screaming, yelling, howling,” he told NBC4.
“We went to the backyard area and that’s where we saw the baby on the platform and started doing CPR.”
The former cop described cutting off the girl’s dress and painstakingly trying CPR for several minutes.
“I was searching for a pulse. I couldn’t find one,” he said.
The girl was eventually rushed to Montefiore Einstein Hospital where she was pronounced dead, cops said.
The medical examiner will determine the official cause of death.
No arrests have been made but a probe into the girl’s tragic demise is still underway, police said.
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