Las Vegas infant’s December death ruled accidental
The death of a 4-month-old girl in December was ruled accidental, the Clark County coroner’s office said Tuesday.
The Metropolitan Police Department was investigating the death of Aurora Crews-Williams, who died Dec. 18 at University Medical Center.
On Tuesday the coroner’s office said the Las Vegas infant’s death was caused by hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy — a type of brain injury caused by lack of blood flow — due to positional asphyxia.
Metro spokeswoman Alejandra Zambrano said Tuesday that detectives had closed the case after the coroner’s office ruled Aurora’s death accidental. Zambrano provided no other details about circumstances surrounding the death.
According to the American SIDS Institute, accidental suffocation can happen in sleep-related infant deaths.
The American SIDS Institute says parents can prevent accidental suffocation by keeping infants’ airways free. The institute recommends avoiding letting babies sleep on their stomach, bed sharing or having cluttered sleep surfaces.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.