Father's Day Nightmare: Toddler Dies On Upper East Side, Police Say

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A tragic Father's Day saw two parents try frantically to save their one-year-old child from a fatal seizure, suffered last weekend on the Upper East Side, according to police and a witness.

The little boy's family first realized their son was having trouble breathing while driving on the FDR Drive about 12:45 p.m., according to police.

The family called 911, police said, and were next seen outside Vino Veritas on East 74th Street and First Avenue, according to the FDNY and wine shop owner Gianluca Rottura.

Rottura said he "heard a scream that he never heard before in my life," and saw a woman chasing after a man.

Unsure of the circumstances, Rottura ran to the door to see the scared parents laying their son on the street.

"They were trying to perform—" Rottura said, breaking off before starting to weep. "They were trying to save him."

A friend later told Rottura he'd heard the mother's cries from blocks away, and a neighbor saw a detail Rottura missed: a picture of the little boy and his dad on the father's shirt.

"The boy was lifeless,"Rottura said. "This was on Father's Day."

Rottura then ran inside to call police as a crowd of at least 30 people gathered at the intersection.

Medics rushed to help the family and ultimately determined the toddler was suffering from a seizure, according to the FDNY.

The toddler, whose name was withheld by police, was taken to New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in stable condition, the NYPD said.

But the boy's condition deteriorated and he died the same day, officials said.

Rottura said he'll never forget the family.

"When I saw the kid lifeless, the screams, I will never get it out of my head," Rottura said, "I was living in hope this whole time that he would be okay."