Toddler pronounced brain dead after accidental drowning in NE Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - A 3-year-old girl who was found face down in a swimming pool last week was pronounced brain dead Sunday night, police said.

The State Medical Examiner's Office reported that Hallie Kraft was pronounced brain dead at 9:30 p.m., according to the Cedar Rapids Police Department. She had been on life support for nearly a week.

The child's mother, Candace Kraft, said in a Facebook post Monday morning that the family would be donating Hallie's organs.

'We hope by donating Hallie's organs, she is bringing someone else their miracle,” the post said.

Police said emergency responders were dispatched about 8:30 p.m. June 29 to the 7500 block of Normandy Drive NE.

When they arrived, public safety spokesman Greg Buelow said, a neighbor - who is a health care provider - was performing lifesaving measures on the toddler.

The child was transported to a Cedar Rapids hospital, then to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

Buelow said the family had been outside around a fire pit and the child had wandered off. The child was found face down in the swimming pool. Police think she climbed the ladder on the side of the pool and fell forward.

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