Daleville child's
death under investigation
DALEVILLE, Ind. – Tragedy
struck Daleville on Wednesday evening when an unresponsive two-year-old boy
was found in a vehicle parked outside his family's apartment.
Efforts
were made to resuscitate Jaxon Stults, but the little boy – who would have
celebrated his third birthday in November – was pronounced dead in an
ambulance that was racing him to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.
An
autopsy is planned Thursday at the Muncie hospital.
The cause of
death, and the events leading to the child being in the vehicle, remain
under investigation.
However, both Daleville Town Marshal James King
and Zach Crouch, a Delaware County deputy coroner, said the death was
believed to be heat-related.
“Any child that’s locked in a vehicle in
90-degree weather for a certain amount of time, the heat is going to be a
factor,” King said.
The town marshal – standing a few yards from two
vehicles, a car and a SUV, that were surrounded by yellow police tape at the
Salem Place apartment complex – said he could not discuss details of the
case.
“As of right now, everything’s under investigation,” he said.
“We’re doing interviews.”
Crouch said there were no immediate
indications of trauma or other injuries that would have caused the child’s
death.
Delaware County dispatchers received the first call concerning
the child about 6:45 p.m. King said CPR was being performed on the boy when
the first police officer arrived.
King, Daleville officers and
Delaware County sheriff’s deputies were outside an apartment building
directly across Sixth Street from the Daleville American Legion.