Seven-year-old girl on life support after choking on lunch at school: Mother has more questions than answers

BROOKLYN -- A seven-year-old girl is on life support after choking on her lunch at school in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Noelia Echavarria, a second-grader, has been declared brain dead -- and her mother says there are more questions than answers in this case.

"I want the school to really, really come and give me the answer. I want them to tell me the reason they let my daughter be like that in the hospital. And nobody's coming to tell me," Ana Santiago said.

Last Wednesday, October 21st, a Public School 250 official saw Noelia choking -- and rushed outside, flagging down an EMT working for a private company. The New York Daily News says the EMT was in his ambulance at a red light.

The EMT ran into the school and worked to clear the girl's airway.

An attorney for Noelia's family says he's concerned about the amount of time it took to call 911 in this case.

"With the little information we have, it appears there was a 911 phone call at about 2:30. But that’s the same time that the EMT called 911. And if that’s the case, that means he’s the first person to call 911. And if he’s the first person to call 911, then the school did not," David Perecman said.

Officials with the Department of Education have released a statement saying they believe faculty responded swiftly, but they continue to monitor this situation.

The New York Daily News is reporting school staffers called Noelia's mother, who called the girl's uncle. The girl's uncle then found the girl lying on the floor in a hallway at the school -- lifeless and covered in blood, surrounded by school staffers who wouldn't touch her.

This, before the school staffer flagged down the EMT.

The EMT told the New York Daily News: "She was unresponsive. Her face was blue. Nobody was doing anything. She was definitely choking. I cleared the airway.”

According to the New York Daily News, the EMT has been suspended from his job indefinitely because he left a patient with his partner (a nursing home aide) in an ambulance when he rushed into the school after he was flagged down.

The New York Daily News says the patient was an elderly man in stable condition -- being transported to a nursing home from an eye clinic.

“Our whole family is in pain and nobody is saying anything. This is a girl who woke up every morning not wanting to miss a day of school," the girl's uncle told the New York Daily News.

Noelia Echavarria is not expected to recover.