Colorado toddler dies after falling asleep in car seat

DENVER — A Colorado toddler died in her car seat Friday when her breathing passages apparently were blocked by the seat's strap as she slept, KDVR reported.

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Elisha Deal found his 18-month-old daughter, Eliyah Faith Deal, unresponsive in her car seat inside the family’s Denver home Thursday morning, the television station reported

The child's mother, Ashley Garcia, said Eliyah fell asleep with her head tilted against the car seat strap. Garcia said the child apparently lost oxygen until she lost consciousness, KDVR reported.

The toddler was taken to a hospital after paramedics were able to get her heart beating again, but Eliyah died the next afternoon, the television station reported.

Garcia started a GoFundMe page for funeral expenses. More than $2,600 has been raised for Eliyah, who was the youngest of Deal and Garcia's four children.

Eliyah “was our greatest gift we could have ever received,” Garcia wrote on the GoFundMe page. “We were blessed with her presence, her innocence and her beauty.”

The family is still awaiting an official report from the coroner's office, KDVR reported.

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