A newborn baby boy died after going into cardiac arrest on the Coquihalla Highway near Merritt yesterday (March 20).
Details are limited, but Merritt RCMP Sgt. Norm Flemming confirmed a family was taking its baby to the BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver for testing when it suffered a medical emergency while travelling on the highway near exit 256 south of town.
The Coquihalla Highway was closed in both directions near exit 256 south of Merritt yesterday (March 20) to allow an air ambulance to land on the highway and transport an infant to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. (Photo courtesy of VSA Highway Maintenance)
“They noted that their infant son was not breathing and ultimately in cardiac arrest,” said Flemming.
The family called 911, and police were brought in at about 4 p.m. to close the highway to allow an air ambulance helicopter to land and pick up the family.
“The air ambulance came, and the poor little guy died on route to the hospital [in Kamloops],” said Flemming.
“CPR had been done almost extensively since he was discovered to be non-responsive,” said Flemming.
Flemming couldn’t confirm what complications led to the cardiac arrest, but has said they were unrelated to why the family was going to the children’s hospital.
—with files from Kamloops This Week
