A south Arkansas toddler who earlier this month fell into an open septic tank, leading to a frantic rescue by his mother who tried to revive him, died of his injuries days after being brought to a Little Rock hospital for treatment, officials said.
Authorities said 2-year-old Ty Dixon Waller fell into the tank on April 1 while playing outside his home in Calion, roughly 12 miles northeast of El Dorado.
Capt. Jeff Stinson with the Union County sheriff’s office said the child was playing in the backyard that afternoon, and his mother had been watching him through a video monitor. But at some point, she lost sight of him and went outside to call for him, thinking he was hiding, Stinson said.
She and another person at the house noticed that part of the septic tank had been broken and it was covered with cardboard as a temporary fix, authorities said.
The mother saw the helmet her son had been wearing inside the tank as she and her friend broke a larger hole in the tank with a hammer. They reached in and pulled the child out, Stinson said.
Officials said they tried reviving Waller before emergency crews arrived and eventually brought him to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.
He died of a severe brain injury on Friday, according to the Pulaski County coroner’s office.
The child’s death remained under investigation Wednesday.
Stinson said the sheriff's office plans to forward its findings to the local prosecutor for any potential criminal offenses.
“This may simply be a tragic accident,” Stinson said, adding that family members “were destroyed” by the child’s death.
Waller’s obituary posted on the El Dorado News-Times said he enjoyed watching Masha and The Bear and Paw Patrol, playing with Snapchat filters, eating Honeycrisp apples and brushing his teeth.
“He touched so many hearts and lives in his time on earth, and everyone who knew him is looking forward to that great reunion day,” it read.
His funeral was on Monday, a day after his third birthday.