The cause of death of the 8-year-old Kentucky boy who died mysteriously after eating strawberries at a school fundraiser last month has been revealed.
The Hopkin County Coroner’s Office told USA TODAY that the boy’s death was caused by fentanyl intoxication and not by eating strawberries. The coroner’s office said the circumstances of the death were undetermined.
On March 15, the Madisonville Police Department responded to a call of an unconscious child around 6:30 a.m., according to reports.
According to 14 News, the child ate several strawberries during a school fundraiser on March 14. The boy began having an allergic reaction and developed a rash. He was taken to the emergency room by his family but was brought home a few hours later. The next morning, the family tried to wake the child for school, but he was not breathing, the newspaper reported.
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Boy’s stepfather arrested after death
The boy’s stepfather, Antonio Person, was arrested nearly two weeks after the boy’s death on March 26. Person is incarcerated in the Hopkin County Jail and faces numerous charges, including:
Possession of marijuana
Possession of drug paraphernalia
Possession of a handgun by a convicted felon
Fentanyl trafficking
Two out-of-county warrants
Criminal contempt of court, slander, resisting order
Second degree manslaughter
Strawberries at the fundraiser were tested and found not to be harmful
On Tuesday, April 9, the Hopkins County Health Department released a news release announcing the results of the strawberries distributed at the school fundraiser.
The results, conducted by the Food and Drug Administration and the Kentucky State Lab, revealed negative traces of harmful substances, according to the Department of Health.
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“If you have frozen the strawberries correctly, we will no longer issue a warning about them,” Public Health Director Denise Beach said in the release.
Beach said the companies involved have been very helpful in the investigation.
“There were 443 apartments distributed by North and 535 apartments distributed by Central; these strawberries were distributed by Juicy Fruit LLC, Southern Grown and Sizemore Farms,” Beach said. “We appreciate their concern for public safety. We were contacted by their security director who was helpful and supportive.
Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on USA TODAY’s national trends team. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lotteries and public policy. Send him an email to . Follow her on Instagram, Topics And X @forbesfineest.
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: Kentucky boy’s death caused by fentanyl, not strawberries, coroner says
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