Parents of a 5-year-old boy who died two days after collapsing in his school’s yard, are suing the city of West Hartford, Connecticut because they believe his death was preventable.

The lawsuit, filed a year after he fell on school premises, alleges the recess duty teachers did not respond with urgency, denying the young boy medical attention that possibly could have saved his life.

Wednesday, April 5, the date that D’Meza Shultz Pierre Louis and Chantel Pierre Louis filed their complaint against the town and the Board of Education, is significant to the small Connecticut family. Exactly one year prior, their son Romeo Pierre Louis collapsed while playing outside during break at Charter Oak International Academy in West Hartford, the CT Insider reports.

Two days after falling, the kindergartener would be dead.

According to the lawsuit, “Romeo was allowed to collapse and lay on the ground for nearly 10 minutes without any assistance or medical treatment — despite several teachers … being in close proximity.”

The complaint states some of the boy’s schoolmates told the supervising teachers about Romeo’s fall, which occurred around 10:45 a.m. However, the educators did not immediately respond to their reports.

The teachers admitted they were dismissive and took their time because students had a habit of playing dead. The school employees.

“By the time the teachers … realized that Romeo was not playing dead and needed emergency medical treatment — it was too late, and Romeo’s life could no longer be saved,” the lawsuit stated.

Thirty-five minutes after collapsing, the young boy was transported to the Connecticut Children’s Hospital. He would later die on April 7, 2022, due to heart complications, according to WFSB.

School security footage captured Romeo’s collapse. It also showed one teacher arriving at his side and checking the boy’s pulse before noticing he was no longer breathing.

After arriving on the scene, officers took statements from teachers and students. In the police incident report, a female teacher says the “students” said the boy was “acting strangely/playing funny/teasing.”

Source: Connecticut Teachers Ignored a Kindergartener Who Collapsed on Playground for 10 Minutes Because They Thought He Was Playing Dead. He Died 2 Days Later: ‘Could No Longer be Saved’