Boy, 8, May Have Died From Milk Allergy

The family of a New Jersey boy who died after church on Sunday will have to wait until next month to find out what caused his death.

His mother told police that her son, who was 8, had a milk allergy and may have accidentally had some to drink that day.

The Mercer County medical examiner performed an autopsy on Tuesday morning, but was not able to rule on a cause of death. That ruling will now come after toxicology results are in, which normally take about four weeks to complete.

The boy, who was from Monmouth County, was at church in Princeton with his mother and siblings.

The family stopped by a coffee shop after church.

As they headed home along Promenade Boulevard in South Brunswick, the boy began to have trouble breathing, according to NJ.com.

His mother pulled over on the side of the road and called for help.

Detective Sgt. Jim Ryan with the South Brunswick police department says the boy went into cardiac arrest when police arrived. An emergency injection of epinephrine failed to revive him.

The child, whose name is being withheld for privacy reasons, was taken to University Medical Center of Princeton, where he was pronounced dead.

The boy's mother told police that at the coffee shop, her son may have mistakenly taken a drink from a cup that contained milk.

That severe of a reaction is rare, according to the Mayo Clinic, which says that most children outgrow a milk allergy by the age of three.

“It’s a tragedy, a complete tragedy,” Ryan said.

The Mercer County Medical Examiner is performing the autopsy. Preliminary results are expected by Tuesday afternoon.

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