Toddler chokes on fruit at preschool and dies, GA officials say. State investigating
An Atlanta-area preschool where a toddler died after choking will remain closed for now, Georgia officials said.
The Little Sunshine’s Playhouse and Preschool of Alpharetta was ordered to shut down as part of a 21-day emergency closure handed down by the state’s Department of Early Care and Learning.
The chain of early childhood education centers has locations in 11 states, according to its website.
“This decision was made following an incident on December 20, 2024, where a toddler choked on fruit served at the center and died five days later,” DECAL spokesperson Reg Griffin told McClatchy News in a statement.
McClatchy News reached out to Little Sunshine’s Playhouse and Preschool for comment Jan. 15 and was awaiting a response.
State officials issued the emergency closure order Jan. 3, and the preschool filed an appeal, according to Griffin. Georgia’s Office of State Administrative Hearings upheld the decision at a hearing Jan. 7, forcing the center to close its doors.
Closures are standard when investigating health and safety issues and will give the state time to investigate, Griffin told WSB-TV.
“We understand it was breakfast that day and (the child) began to choke on what we understand was a piece of mango,” he told the station. “A lot of it has to do with the sizes of the food that are being served, the bite sizes, how small or how big is allowed.”
It comes less than a year after a similar incident at a day care in Brunswick, which was also ordered to close after a 1-year-old boy choked on a piece of watermelon, McClatchy News reported. The baby was rushed to a hospital, where he died.
“It feels like I’m living a nightmare that I cannot wake up from,” the child’s mother, Taylor Hicks, told WJXT at the time, “I cannot wake up from this. And a part of me does not believe this is happening to me.”
Little Sunshine’s Playhouse and Preschool of Alpharetta may be allowed to reopen once the emergency order expires, barring any further action by the state, Griffin said.
“If subsequent action is determined, the action will be issued on/before the 21st day which is Jan. 25, 2025,” he said.
Alpharetta is about a 30-mile drive north from downtown Atlanta.