Las Vegas boy, 8, dies after drinking chemicals in soda bottle

An 8-year-old Las Vegas boy died this month after he ingested chemicals that were stored in a soda bottle, according to a Clark County Department of Family Services report.

Johnny Ramos-Guzman died May 11 at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center after he was hospitalized days prior, the Clark County coroner’s office said. On May 9, Johnny ingested a “liquid chemical substance” that had been stored in a soda bottle, which the boy assumed was soda, according to the report.

He was released from the hospital on May 10 because the chemical was “presumed to be low-risk,” but his condition worsened hours later and he was hospitalized again.

The coroner’s office ruled Johnny’s death an accident due to complications from chemical ingestion.

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating Johnny’s death, but the department on Wednesday declined to release records related to the investigation, citing the open case. It was unclear if anyone will face criminal charges.

The Department of Family Services had no prior contact with Johnny or anyone in his household, but it did open a routine case “of investigation and family assessment” following the 8-year-old’s death, the report said.

The report did not identify Johnny’s parents.

According to the most recent data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System, children 5 or younger made up 44 percent of 2018 cases in the U.S. of someone being exposed to a poisonous substance.

Cleaning substances were the second-most-common poison exposure among all age groups, involving 7.3 percent of recorded exposures, according to the data.

Every day there are more than 300 instances of someone 19 or younger who is treated at an emergency room due to being poisoned, and there are two deaths every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. That includes instances of children ingesting medications.

The CDC has the following tips to prevent accidental poisoning:

— Keep medicine and toxic products such as cleaning solution in their original packaging, and store them where children can’t see or access them.

— Program the poison control center phone number into your cellphone, and keep it near any home phones. Call the center 24/7 at 800-222-1222 if you suspect a child has been poisoned but they are awake and alert. Call 911 if the child has collapsed or is not breathing.

— Safely dispose of unused, unneeded or expired medications, vitamins and supplements.