3-year-old died after man bypassed nearby hospitals, drove to Queens for help, police say

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Friday, September 25, 2020
Man charged after taking dying girl on 2-hour ride to the hospital
Police arrested a man after the death of a 3-year-old girl in Queens when they said he drove her to a hospital several boroughs away.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- A man was arrested following the death of a 3-year-old girl in Queens Thursday after police say he drove her to a hospital several boroughs away.

59-year-old Anthony Richardson is charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17.

Video from outside the Bronx apartment where a 3-year-old was found unconscious. She later died after the man watching her drove all the way to Queens for help.

Police said officers responded to Cohen Children's Medical Center on 76 Avenue around 7:15 p.m. and hospital officials informed them that Richardson drove 3-year-old Jaylynn Evans to the hospital himself.

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She arrived unconscious and unresponsive with no obvious signs of trauma and was pronounced dead.

Richardson is the grandfather of the girl's best friend, police said.

He was apparently watching over the girls in his apartment on East 138th Street in the Bronx when he found the 3-year-old unconscious.

He bypassed nearby hospitals and did not call 911 on his way to Queens.

Richardson told detectives he frequently takes his own relatives to the hospital in Queens and rushed the girl there because he knew it was home to a leading children's hospital.

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He admitted he likely wasn't thinking straight.

At the hospital, the 3-year-old tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Medical Examiner will determine her cause of death and if the delay to get her help played a role.

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