Aurora Masters (GoFundMe)
A 5-year-old girl in Colorado died over the weekend, succumbing to injuries suffered after being strangled while playing on a swing in her family's backyard last week.
Aurora Masters was playing outside behind her family's home in Fort Collins on Wednesday, May 8, when the innocent fun took a heartbreaking turn. According to family members, the child was playing on a disc swing — which features a round disc hanging from a single line —when her neck got tangled in the outdoor toy.
"She pulled her little plastic slide over to where her swing was and was doing something and somehow got caught up in the swing, and the swing strangled her," Aurora's great aunt Brenda Kennedy said in an interview with Denver Fox affiliate KDVR.
Officers with the City of Fort Collins Police Department and emergency medical services personnel immediately responded to the scene and began lifesaving procedures on the child. EMS transported Aurora to Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora where she was admitted into the facility's intensive care unit in critical but stable condition.
Unfortunately, the lack of oxygen caused significant and irreversible swelling in Aurora's brain, Kennedy wrote on a GoFundMe page. The family on May 11, made the difficult decision to transition Aurora to end-of-life care and organ donation.
"Thank you all for your continued thoughts, prayers, and shares for our sweet baby girl," Kennedy wrote on the fundraising page. "If you looked up last night, or you look up tonight, you will see our Miss Aurora putting on a beautiful show for you with the borealis."
Aurora's fundraiser took in more than $27,000 from over 330 individuals. The family said that the money will be used for Aurora's memorial service and a "celebration of life."
"The celebration will be for Aurora and her friends to sing, dance and live their best lives!" Kennedy wrote. "Once that is complete, extra funds will be donated to agencies and/or organizations that help Aurora's memory continue. Thank you for all your love expressions to our family."
A spokesperson for Fort Collins PD told USA Today that the department was not conducting an investigation into Aurora's death because there was no evidence of foul play, referring to the incident as a "tragic accident."
Editor's note: This story has been updated to specify the type of swing involved in the incident.
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