A 4-year-old Bronx boy who suddenly collapsed and died at home may have accidentally ingested rat poison, authorities said Tuesday.
Investigators are awaiting a toxicology report from the Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the cause of Juan Sanchez’ death.
Cops said the boy died Monday at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital after he turned blue and started foaming at the mouth the day before.
The boy fell ill after he returned from the park Sunday morning with his mother and four brothers.
He was rushed to Lincoln Hospital, then transferred to Columbia-Presbyterian, where he died the next day.
Cops interviewed the parents but did not suspect foul play, officials said.
Cops initially thought that alcohol may have played a role in the death because one of Juan’s brothers saw him drinking earlier from a 25-ounce can of King Cobra malt liquor left in the building’s hallway.
But they have also zeroed in on potential rat poisoning because the boy’s mother, Migdalia Morales, 34, told them she suspected the boy could have ingested it. Rat poisoning was left by an exterminator who recently visited the Tinton Avenue building, a single-room-occupancy shelter.
“My kids were playing around like kids do, and it’s very possible he found something that he digested and it killed him,” Morales told The Post on Tuesday.
Additional reporting by Jamie Schram