Azriel Estabrooks: 11-Year-Old Massachusetts Girl Dies After Choking On Marshmallow At Birthday Party

Azriel Estabrooks, an 11-year-old girl from Massachusetts, died on Friday after choking on a marshmallow during a friend’s birthday party. According to KTLA, Azriel died after she spent over a week on life support at a local hospital with no improvement in her condition.

The incident reportedly happened on April 16, when Azriel visited a friend’s birthday party. While the actual circumstances that led to Azriel’s death is under investigation, what we currently know is that the girl choked on a “big marshmallow.” She also fell and hit her head before passing out. While there were many people at the party, an unconscious Azriel was not noticed by the attendees — and by the time they did, it was too late. She was rushed to a hospital where she remained in critical condition before passing away last Friday. She was a student at the North Elementary School in Somerset, and Azriel’s father, Jason, is a retired Army veteran.

11y/o girl died after choking on a marshmallow. She was at a classmates birthday #Somerset @fox25news pic.twitter.com/8Y1SFqBkI7

— Malini Basu (@WFXTMalini) April 22, 2016

According to Azriel’s mother, Iris Estabrooks, the girl had been passed out for quite a while before an unresponsive Azriel was discovered by the party guests. In an interview to a local news station, Iris revealed that she received a call just over an hour after she dropped Azriel off at the party saying that something had happened to her daughter. Iris adds that she reached the venue before an ambulance did — only to find her unresponsive daughter surrounded by people.

While there were several adults at the party, none of them were able to tell what had actually happened before Azriel was found unconscious. The distressed mother was worried her daughter wasn’t found in time.

“Because someone didn’t find her in time. Someone didn’t realize she was choking on a damn marshmallow.”

The family of Azriel Estabrooks had set up a GoFundMe page soon after the girl’s accident and have so far managed to raise more than $15,000 at the time of drafting this story. The GoFundMe page started off as a fundraiser that would help the family manage the cost of keeping Azriel on life support and eventually treating her. However, she passed away on the morning of April 22. Before Azriel passed away, the family was hoping that the girl would recover. The GoFundMe post describes the incident.

“Jason and Iris Estabrooks of Somerset have been living every parent’s nightmare since Saturday April 16th. Their 11 year old daughter, Azriel, was at a birthday party when she suffered a serious accident. The Estabrooks were told that their daughter had choked on a ‘big marshmallow’ at the birthday party, fell down, and suffered a severe head injury. Her parents have been by her side at pediatric intensive care unit at a nearby hospital since Saturday. Azriel remains in critical condition. ‘All we want is her to wake up and look at us with her beautiful green eyes,’ says Iris.”

A few days later, the family said that Azriel was “fighting for her life.” Iris Estabrooks added a personal comment.

“She is fighting for her life by a very thin thread right now. My family and I are reaching out in hopes of prayer and support. Every second every minute and every hour is critical for her. She is strong and putting up a fight but it’s not looking good for her. So please we ask for all the prayers and positive energy for our baby.”

However, on April 22, Azriel passed away following which the family issued a final statement.

“Unfortunately, Heaven called their their Angel back home very Early this morning 4/22/2016. The family is grieving the loss of their beautiful little girl! She will always be with them in their hearts and watching over them and especially her younger brother and sister.”

[Image By John Morgan – Flickr, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons]