Toddler with dairy allergy dies after preschool allegedly fed him grilled cheese
 

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New York City officials are investigating the death of a toddler whose family said had an allergic reaction to the grilled cheese sandwich a preschool employer allegedly fed him last week.

Elijah, 3, was at the Seventh Avenue Center for Family Services in Harlem Nov. 3 when a supervising adult allegedly gave him a grilled cheese sandwich, "despite them knowing and having documented that he has a severe allergy to dairy," according to a page set up on crowdfunding site GoFundMe, which is said to be organized by "close family members" of Elijah's parents.

The New York City Fire Department confirmed there was no 911 call from the preschool during the time of the boy's emergency. Instead, the school called Elijah's mother, who took him to the hospital, the family said.

The facility has been shuttered and an investigation into the boy's death is ongoing, Christopher Miller, a spokesman for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, told ABC News today.

"There is nothing more important than the safety of our children and we are deeply saddened by this tragedy," Miller said in an emailed statement. "We will get to the bottom of what happened here. In the meantime, we closed 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."

Elijah went into "anaphylactic shock" and was rushed to the pediatric emergency room at Harlem Hospital Center where he died, according to the GoFundMe page posted Tuesday.

The boy is survived by his "heartbroken mother, Dina, father, Thomas, and his 5-year-old brother, Sebastian," according to the page, which has raised nearly $20,000 by 325 donors in two days.

The money will help alleviate funeral and medical expenses, pay for family therapy and cover the cost of a "second and independent autopsy," the page says.

"Right now, our family is immersed in our grief, but we are also facing an overwhelming list of financial and practical matters, all related to Elijah's untimely death," the family members wrote on the page.

"We want to find out exactly what caused Elijah's death and that will mean sorting out exactly where, if any, breakdowns may have occurred at either the school or the hospital. Having a third-party medical examination will ensure our ability to get a clear picture. We just want justice for Elijah."

The GoFundMe page organizers and an attorney for Elijah's family did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment today.

The Seventh Avenue Center for Family Services and Harlem Hospital Center also did not immediately respond to ABC News' request today for information and comment on Elijah's death.

The New York Police Department referred ABC News' requests for information on the incident to the city's Administration for Children's Services.

Lorelei Vargas, deputy commissioner for early care and education at the Administration for Children's Services, spoke to reporters outside the center this afternoon to address the "terrible tragedy," but said she couldn't provide much information because of the ongoing probe.

"We do believe that this is an isolated incident, but there is an active investigation and we hope to learn more," Vargas said, noting it's still unclear whether the incident could have been avoided "because we really don't know what happened."

"I don't want to speculate about what in fact took place here," she added. "I can't even share details because we don't know at this time."

The Seventh Avenue Center for Family Services is a Universal Preschool (UPK) site, part of the Administration for Children's Services' "EarlyLean NYC" program, a city health official told ABC News. Its Manhattan facility was closed for failing to follow its written safety plan and failing to adequately supervise a child, in violation of the health code, the official said.

The most recent inspection of the center took place Sept. 21 and no violations were cited, the official added.

The Administration for Children's Services will have staff at the center today assisting families in finding alternative programs for their children to attend, the official said, adding that confidentiality laws preclude investigators from commenting further on the probe.

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They fucking called his mom? didn't call 911 . Some people shouldn't be running a day care business.

We now know the life expectancy of someone with a severe allergy to dairy. Not very long because dairy is like the Terminator and will find you eventually.

Sounds like a free (government funded) daycare. Mom will sue and put the free care place out of business forever.

I knew it was going to say this or something similar. You really expect the minimum wage lunch lady to keep track of the medical history of four hundred kids at the grade school?

It's sad that the poor child died but.... Did the parents pay any attention to the lunch menu? Maybe if their child had such issues they should have packed his lunch every day.

fucked up...

Regrettable. But if the grilled cheese sandwich had simply identified as an apple, the kid would be alive and well right now (and considerably healthier).

Despite the tragic loss and the allergy side, I don't think a grilled cheese sandwich is the sort of food they should be serving to children in the most obese country in the world, especially in a cared for situation.

How tragic. Yes, Rochard, they should be paying attention at this school, just as they do at every other school across the nation. It's nothing like when we grew up with the allergies, and every school is very informed. Even the percentage of kids with real allergies has changed dramatically, I think. It's because their parents start sanitizing everything at birth versus when we used to eat dirt and chew on aluminum toys..

Dairy is a tough one, though, unlike peanuts which everywhere has basically banned. Besides not calling 911, it seems negligent that the preschool didn't have epi pens of its own or from the parents. So sad that the little kid died, anaphylaxis is a foreseeable risk and the preschool should have been better prepared.

Brad