Parents release video of 8-year-old's choking at Texas school, question staff response

Right · 2The parents of Adrian Thompson, an 8-year-old girl who choked at Velma Penny Elementary School in Lindale, Texas, on April 15, have released surveillance footage of her final minutes. 1 2 Right · 2The video shows Adrian getting up from her lunch table at about 11:40 a.m., coughing into a napkin with her hands near her throat. 1 2 Right · 2According to the Texas Rangers report, a cafeteria employee believed she was sick, guided her to a trash can and asked whether she wanted to go to the restroom; Adrian indicated yes and left through the double doors. 1 2

Right · 2The footage shows her returning to the cafeteria seconds later (the Daily Mail says 13 seconds), waving her arms at the same employee, before leaving again and sprinting to the nurse's office. 1 2 Right · 2The nurse told investigators Adrian was pointing to her mouth and trying to speak before turning blue. The nurse performed the Heimlich maneuver, and Adrian collapsed. The nurse then checked for a pulse and began CPR; the New York Post adds that an anti-choking device was used. 1 2 Right · 2The New York Post, citing CBS 19, reports that the principal called 911 at 11:45 a.m. Responders wheeled Adrian out performing chest compressions at about 11:55, and the ambulance left at noon. She was taken to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, where she died. The Daily Mail says this was in the early hours of April 16. 2 1

Right · 2The Texas Rangers found no criminal offense was committed, and the medical examiner classified the death as accidental, caused by choking. No charges were brought. 2 1 Right · 2Adrian's mother, Anna Thompson, said that even if staff had helped right away she would still be devastated, but that the footage does not show that, which is why she feels people need to know. The parents also set up a fundraiser for medical bills, including a life flight to Dallas. 2 1 Right · 2Lindale Independent School District Superintendent Stan Surratt told the Post the school has updated safety procedures, added staff training and adopted new policies to help prevent a repeat. The Daily Mail said it had approached the school for comment. 2 1