Monday, May 25, 2009

Tyson's Daughter on Life Support


4-year-old daughter of Mike Tyson is on life support after she was found with her neck caught in a cord of a treadmill machine Monday, police said.

Exodus Tyson's 7-year-old brother found her on a treadmill with her neck in the cord that dangles from the console of the exercise machine at their Phoenix home, police Sgt. Andy Hill said, calling it a "tragic accident."

The boy told Exodus' mother, who was in another room. She took Exodus off the cord, called 911 and tried to revive her.

Responding officers and firefighters performed CPR on Exodus as they rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she was in "extremely critical condition" and on life support, Hill said.

"Somehow she was playing on this treadmill, and there's a cord that hangs under the console — it's kind of a loop," Hill said. "Either she slipped or put her head in the loop, but it acted like a noose, and she was obviously unable to get herself off of it."

Hill said former heavyweight champion Tyson had been in Las Vegas but flew to Phoenix immediately after learning of the accident. Police didn't release the girl's name.

Tyson could not immediately be reached for comment but 42West, a New York City public relations firm representing him, released a statement on the family's behalf.

"The Tyson family would like to extend our deepest and most heartfelt thanks for all your prayers and support, and we ask that we be allowed our privacy at this difficult time," the statement said.

Brief footage from local TV station KTVK showed Tyson arriving at the hospital in a white button-up and black pants, and looking around with a frown before going inside.
Hill said everything in the investigation pointed to an accident. "There's nothing in the investigation that revealed anything suspicious," he said.

He added that responding to calls involving children is an officer's most difficult duty.

"Those are the things that stay with you in your career," he said. "We always hope for a miracle — not to have the worst happen to a child."

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