Infant Found Unconscious at Slope Daycare, Dies

An infant was pronounced dead Wednesday evening after being found unconscious in a Park Slope daycare center.

Three-month-old Brandon Collins was at Avalon Academy daycare center on 15th Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues when caretakers noticed the baby had stopped breathing, according to Thomas Mulvi, the owner of the daycare center.

The child was taken to Methodist Hospital, but pronounced dead on arrival, according to police.

Police are still investigating the matter and have yet to determine a cause of death, but no criminality is expected on the part of the daycare center. One possible cause of death, according to both police and the daycare center, is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

“This is a tragic occurrence. It’s a heartbreaker,” said Mulvi. “The parents were, of course, crushed.”

Mulvi said that at Avalon three caretakers were in the room with seven babies, and that infants are checked at least every 30 minutes. Upon finding Collins not breathing, two caretakers immediately began CPR. The baby was alive but not breathing when police arrived on the scene.

“This all happened in about 12 minutes,” said Mulvi.

Avalon daycare will now undergo a routine investigation by the health department, following the incident.

“In the face of a tragedy like this it's tough to be concerned [about the business],” said Mulvi. “We did what we were supposed to do, we followed all protocols. This is just a terrible tragedy.”