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CNN Live At Daybreak

6-Year-Old Boy Killed in Bizarre MRI Accident

Aired July 31, 2001 - 07:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: In Valhalla, New York, a bizarre, deadly accident involving a six-year-old boy and a MRI machine.

Reporter Lucy Yang of CNN affiliate, WABC in New York has these details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LOIS GIMPLE SHAUKAT, NEIGHBOR: Well, he was delightful six-year- old boy, you know, had a -- you know, big eyes and a bright smile.

LUCY YANG, REPORTER, WABC (voice-over): They are remembering six-year-old Michael Colombini who died at Westchester Medical Center following a freak and tragic accident. Friday morning, the young child was undergoing a magnetic-residence-imaging test. He was sedated, as is common for such young ones because the MRI requires the patient to lie still for a long period of time. And it was during that time, we're told, when someone brought in an oxygen tank. The force of the 10-ton magnet, which is almost 10,000 times as powerful as the Earth's gravitational force, immediately set the metal tank flying to the magnet. The oxygen tank crushing the sleeping boy's head.

DENISE LESLIE, FORMER EMPLOYEE: Something like this just underscores the need to be vigilant.

YANG: Radiologist Denise Leslie, who used to work at the medical center but now has her own private practice down the road, says there is no room for mistakes in this kind of a room. Once you are in the magnetic field, it can ruin pacemakers, wipe out credit cards, stop watches. Thankfully, mistakes here are rare and fatal ones unheard of. In response, the president and CEO of the hospital said -- quote -- "The Medical Center assumes full responsibility for the accident. Our sorrow is immeasurable and our prayers and thoughts are with the child's family.

While all this has left the hospital community shaken, this student nurse says the facility remains an excellent hospital.

LAKEISA JONES, STUDENT NURSE: I worked in pediatrics and the nurses are real caring up there. I know a lot of the nurses that work up there.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LIN: That was reporter Lucy Yang of CNN affiliate WABC in New York.

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