Eight-year-old dies after choking on bouncy ball in school

Landon McCubbins, eight, began choking while in class at Boston School in Nelson County

A Kentucky boy has died after choking on a bouncy ball while in school.

Eight-year-old Landon McCubbins began choking while in class at Boston School in Nelson County on 21 November. He was immediately taken to a local hospital by firefighters who were running drills nearby and then airlifted to Norton Children’s Hospital, where he died.

“We never would have thought we would bury him,” his aunt, Emma McCubbins, told local news outlet WHAS-TV. “We thought he would be burying all of us because that’s how it’s supposed to work.”

The school has cancelled classes on Monday, when Landon’s funeral is set to take place. Mental health resources have also been made available for students struggling with the tragedy.

“... Landon was loved deeply by his classmates and teachers,” principal Niki King wrote in a statement. “Our hearts go out to Landon’s family and friends. Please join us as we hold them in our prayers during this time of great loss.”

Landon’s family shared on Facebook that he “loved big trucks” and asked members of the community to drive theirs from the funeral home to the church to honour the little boy.

“Every time when I picked him up from school he would tell me about all the trucks in the [pick -up line.] ‘Mom look at that 2500,’ he would say,” Landon’s mother, Lauren McCubbins, said.

After the accident, Landon McCubbins was airlifted to Norton Children’s Hospital, where he died (Facebook )

Ms McCubbins added that first responders “did absolutely everything they could to save [her] baby,” and that no one was at fault for the tragic accident.

“The school staff, the Boston firefighters, the police officers, Flaget’s staff, the people of the helicopter, and the staff at [Kosair Charities] did everything they possibly could to save him,” Ms McCubbins said in a post.

“Landon fought so hard and it just wasn’t enough. We can’t focus on the would have, should have, could have. We have to focus on Landon. That special, special boy.”

The community is raising funds to cover expenses for Landon’s family