Authorities were still unsure what caused a 10-year-old Woodside boy to slip into unconsciousness and die last week.
Police responded to a 911 call at 5:27 p.m. Jan. 31 requesting help for Farhan Talukder, authorities said. The NYPD said they found Farhan unconscious and unresponsive in a tub in his family’s fifth floor apartment at 59-29 Queens Blvd. He was later taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
“It’s just a total tragedy,” said Gerard Ganz, 54, who lives next door to Farhan’s family.
The medical examiner has not yet determined the cause of Farhan’s death.
Ganz said he saw the family soon after Farhan collapsed and the FDNY, NYPD and EMS began arriving.
“The door’s open. The mother’s screaming,” Ganz said. “I see the kid on the floor.”
Ganz said despite the police’s report that the boy was in a tub when he collapsed, he said he thought Farhan had collapsed after he had taken off his clothing and was preparing to bathe.
“He was as dry as a bone,” Ganz said.
He said Farhan’s death was such a shock since Ganz’s 20-year-old son had seen him playing in the park earlier Thursday. He believed that Farhan may have had a heart condition, and he remembered that some of Farhan’s family were asking “Where’s the medicine?” when the boy was on the floor.
Ganz said Farhan had a younger sister who is about 4 years old and that his parents were good people.
“They were a loving family,” he said.
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
