Sydney Weston, Carl Junction, Missouri, 8 year old girl suffers mystery medical emergency during Skywest flight bound for Chicago as plane is diverted 45 minutes after take off only for child to be pronounced dead when rushed to hospital.
##Update: Preliminary autopsy results were inconclusive for the young Missouri girl who died after she fell ill on a flight to Chicago with her family, officials said Friday.
Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood said the 8 year old’s body showed no signs of abuse or neglect, and that no evidence of foul play had been discovered.
#Original story: An 8-year-old girl has died after suffering a mystery medical emergency during a flight to Chicago, shortly after departing from Missouri.
Sydney Weston, 8, flying on a Skywest Flight with her family departed from Joplin, Missouri, on Thursday at 6am and was heading to Chicago when the aircraft was diverted to Peoria, Illinois, about 45 minutes after take off.
Reports told of the girl suddenly being taken seriously ill and unresponsive and the plane forced to make an emergency landing.
Scheduled autopsy
‘Her family immediately notified the flight personnel of her condition, and they began rapidly rendering aid,’ the Peoria County Coroner’s Office said.
First-responders met the child at the General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport after the plane landed but the girl was not breathing and had no pulse, according to the coroner’s office.
Sydney was rushed to the hospital, where she was declared dead just after 8am, despite ‘aggressive resuscitative efforts.’
An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.
Sydney, from Carl Junction, Missouri, was traveling with her her parents Whitney and Dan and her older brother Evan.
What caused 8 year old girl to die while flying?
The Peoria County Sheriff’s Office said: ‘When the plane landed Deputies, AMT Personnel, and Air National Guard Fire personnel immediately received the 8-year-old female child and began life-saving measures.
‘The child was transported to a local hospital by AMT where she was unfortunately pronounced deceased.
‘Please keep the child’s family and everyone who was involved in this traumatic experience in your thoughts and prayers.’
The flight was operated by SkyWest, which operates through partnerships with United, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
A SkyWest spokesperson said: ‘We appreciate the efforts of our crewmembers who responded quickly to assist and the medical personnel who met the aircraft.’
Flight 5121 took off to Chicago again before 1pm Thursday.
Not immediately clear is whether the 8 year old child had a prior medical condition or a burgeoning illness that should have preempted her from flying that morning.
Preliminary autopsy results performed on Friday were inconclusive for the young Missouri girl who died after she fell ill on a flight to Chicago with her family, officials said Friday.
Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood said the 8 year old’s body showed no signs of abuse or neglect, and that no evidence of foul play had been discovered, WGN reported.
