ST. GEORGE — Instead of holding a celebration Saturday for what would have been Leonardo Sanchez’s 2nd birthday, his family will hold a funeral. The toddler died Thursday after suffocating under a bean bag chair at a West Jordan daycare center.
In a tragedy that unfolded in a matter of minutes, the boy crawled underneath the bean bag chair before an employee sat in the chair, not knowing the child was underneath.
It is unclear why the employee did not notice the child.
“I’m just confused,” the child’s mother, Danielle Sanchez, told KSL. “I’m so confused on how you don’t know where my kid is. How do you not feel him? How do you not hear him scream?”
She said that police told her the employee sat on the chair for several minutes and read to other children. The boy suffocated beneath the chair and was discovered unconscious.
“I’m supposed to be planning his birthday party for next week and now I’m planning his funeral,” Danielle Sanchez, said in tears Friday.
A GoFundMe page has been created by a family friend to help with funeral costs. As of Tuesday, $3,685 had been raised.
“His Mom, dad and 3 siblings are heartbroken by the loss of their handsome, sweet baby boy,” the page reads.
Another GoFundMe page created for the family had garnered $6,625 in donations by Tuesday morning.
Management at the West Jordan Child Center released the following statement through an attorney Friday:
We regret deeply the tragic death of a young toddler at our daycare facility. No words adequately describe the depth of the sorrow we feel. And, of course, we do not pretend to understand how devastating this is for the family. We know the family well, we grieve with them, and we pray that God will provide them the comfort and peace they inevitably will need.
Ed. note: St. George News has not verified information provided in connection with fundraising accounts mentioned in this article and does not assure that monies deposited to the accounts will be applied as described. Those considering contributions are advised to consult with their own professionals for tax advice and investment risks.
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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.
What a sad and very bizarre story.
It’s a very sad loss of a child, however this attorney needs to advise the daycare worker to IMMEDIATELY move to Hurricane, where all charges will be dropped.
Hurricane investigators understand that accidents happen, and the worker has surely suffered enough already.
I’m glad to see the #fundraiser has already started, too.
What an outrage! Drug test the person that did this cuz they can’t be that careless sober, can they?
I can only imagine the anger this family is going through.
I feel for both the parents and the teacher. Yes for the teacher too. We don’t know if she was over weight and couldn’t feel under her or if she was on the edge and middle or what lead up to not knowing there was a two yr under a bean bag. It’s going to take both their life time to try and coupe with the lose of this child. One may not be able to or both for that matter. So they both need support for this very horrible tragic loss. God gained an angle back.
You would think that the person would’ve noticed that the bean bag chair didn’t feel right when she sat on it. A two year old child is big enough to make the chair feel lumpy. And surely the child wriggled at first. How could she not feel that?
Kimberly Scott, your opening line is in poor taste.
A few simple laws banning fat people, beanbags, and daycares would have saved this child’s life, don’t you think?
Oh yes! More laws always makes it safer (barf) now all furniture must be secured to the floor with no gaps between the furniture and the floor in a daycare!
I’m sure everybody involved feels terrible and Is asking how and why. It’s very bizarre and tragic.
I know I always feel safer seeing the ‘gun free zone’ signs on a building.
I’d feel even safer if they started placing ‘beanbag free zones’. Those things are killers!
Well maybe if they quit using beans and started stuffing those chairs with dead frogs it might make a difference.
But wouldn’t that mean a higher chance of someone ‘croaking’?