A toddler in Arizona was declared dead after being pulled from a backyard pool but was found alive hours later in a room that served as the hospital morgue, according to recently released police records.
First responders were dispatched around 5:30 pm to a reported drowning. They performed life-saving measures before transporting the 18-month-old boy to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.
Despite two police officers in Phoenix observing possible signs of life multiple times, the child was taken to the hospital's "cold room" after treatment by staff. At one point, doctor Aryan Toosi reportedly told an officer, "Please do your thing and let me do my thing."
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center stated it is conducting "a thorough review of all aspects of the care provided to learn what happened and to make meaningful changes to strengthen our care."
Scott Holden, lawyer for Dr. Toosi, declined to make a full statement but assured there is "much more to this case, both factually and medically, than has been reported thus far."
San Francisco forensic pathologist Judy Melinek noted that cases of mistaken death declarations are rare but do occur, often due to very shallow or intermittent breathing. She added such occurrences are more common in elderly patients than in children or toddlers.
The incident is under review by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
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