3-Year-Old Girl’s Cause of Death on Texas Bus, Revealed
An autopsy revealed that a 3-year-old migrant child who died on a bus from Texas to Chicago had various health issues, including pneumonia and an intestinal condition.
Jismary Alejandra Barboza González died on August 10 while traveling on Interstate 57 through Marion County, Illinois, roughly 90 miles east of St. Louis. The bus was part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaign to send migrants coming into the state to Democratic-led communities throughout the country, which began last year.
Jismary died of bacterial Shigella flexneri colitis, an intestinal condition, and aspiration pneumonia, according to Marion County Coroner Troy Cannon. Diarrhea and vomiting produced electrolyte imbalances and cerebral enlargement, both of which contributed to her death. She was also positive for norovirus, rotavirus, and RSV in her lungs, all of which can induce diarrhea and respiratory sickness.
“Her extremely low weight and length for her age, at 0.2 and 1.2 growth percentiles according to the World Health Organization Child Growth Standards, was a significant contributing factor in her death,” Cannon said in a press release.
Jismary became ill as her family boarded the bus in Texas, although she only had a low-grade temperature at the time, according to Cannon.
“During the trip, her symptoms worsened, leading to vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, and dehydration,” Cannon wrote.
Her condition worsened throughout the journey, and she began having difficulty breathing.
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Unresponsive Child Rushed to Hospital, Pronounced Dead Upon Arrival
Jismary’s mother noticed her asleep and unresponsive on the bus in Marion County. A bus security guard contacted 911, and she was rushed to the hospital while emergency services attempted to resuscitate her. When she got at the hospital, she was pronounced dead.
Jismary’s funeral was held in a church in Warsaw, Indiana, last month. Jismary’s burial expenses were largely covered by the Illinois Welcoming Center, a partially state-funded initiative.
Gisela Gonzalez, the girl’s great aunt, said the family left Colombia, where Jismary was born, in May for the United States.
Gisela Gonzalez, a Venezuelan resident, stated that there was no sign that Jismary was in danger or required medical assistance prior to her apparent cardiac death on the bus. She claimed Jismary’s parents traveled through the perilous Darien Gap, five Central American countries, and Mexico before surrendering at a U.S. immigration station.
Passengers on the bus, which left from the border city of Brownsville, were given temperature checks and asked about their health conditions before boarding, according to the Texas Division of Emergency Management. Jismary’s death was confirmed by Texas authorities as the first since the organization began transporting migrants in August.
Abbott’s Operation Lone Star has sent 30,000 migrants seeking refuge in Texas to Chicago, Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Denver, and Los Angeles – so-called sanctuary cities — in a protest he says would end when President Joe Biden “secures the border.”
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Source: CBS News
