Girl dies after classmate gives her peanut

RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 12 (UPI) — Police say a 7-year-old Virginia girl who died from an allergic reaction in school had been given a peanut by another student who did not know of her allergy.

Ammaria Johnson died after eating a peanut during recess on the playground of Hopkins Elementary, ABC News reported Wednesday.

Johnson approached a teacher after she noticed hives and shortness of breath. She was taken to the school clinic, where she stopped breathing, police said.

“When emergency crews arrived, she was already in cardiac arrest in the clinic,” said Lt. Jason Elmore, a spokesman for the Chesterfield County Fire Department.

A police investigation found Johnson died from cardiac arrest and anaphylaxis and that no crime or criminal negligence was committed by the child who shared the peanut, school personnel or Johnson’s mother.

“Although not a crime, Amarria’s death is a tragedy and the Chesterfield County Police Department expresses its deepest sympathies to her family, classmates and school personnel as they deal with this difficult and painful event,” Chesterfield County Chief of Police Col. Thierry Dupuis said in a statement.

Experts said Johnson’s life could have been saved had she been carrying an EpiPen — a device that injects epinephrine to reverse the symptoms of anaphylaxis, currently only available by prescription.

“When it comes to a life-threatening allergic reaction, it’s so simple to save that life,” said Maria Acebal, chief executive officer of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, based in Fairfax, Va. “I have no doubt that the school where this little girl went had an EpiPen in the office — it just didn’t have Ammaria’s name on it.”

A proposed bill that would require schools to keep EpiPens in stock may change how students with severe allergies are treated in emergency situations on school property.

“No one in this country has ever been sued for giving epinephrine, to my knowledge,” said Acebal. “All the lawsuits come about because school officials don’t give it when it’s needed.”