The Sacramento police continued their investigation Tuesday into the suspicious death of a 3-year-old Natomas boy on Sunday – a case that began unfolding with a routine traffic stop.
The boy died at the UC Davis Medical Center about 9 p.m. Sunday after suffering undisclosed injuries Friday morning.
The Bee is not naming the boy because no crime has been alleged to date.
Sacramento police, however, have described his death as suspicious and are waiting for the Sacramento County Coroner's Office to determine how he died.
Authorities were first alerted to the boy's injuries Friday morning, when a California Highway Patrol officer made a traffic stop near the boy's apartment in the 2100 block of Zurlo Way.
The officer pulled over a car after its driver crossed double lines, said CHP Officer Lizz Dutton.
The boy's grandmother was a passenger in the car, and her boyfriend was driving, Dutton said.
They told the officer they were heading to the Zurlo Way apartment for a medical emergency.
They said someone already had called 911, but the officer could find no record of the call, Dutton said.
He followed the car to the apartment, where the grandmother was met outside by somebody carrying the boy.
He was breathing, but not well, Dutton said.
The officer called for medical aid, and the boy was transported to the hospital. Meanwhile, a Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District captain at the scene had concerns about the boy's injuries and asked for police to respond as well, said city fire spokesman Capt. Jim Doucette.
Doucette also could find no record of any emergency calls about the boy's injuries, other than the CHP officer's call to his dispatch.
Sacramento police declined to discuss the case in further detail, citing an ongoing investigation.
Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.
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