HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Detectives are trying to determine why a 15-year-old South Florida boy became ill and died.
The boy died Wednesday morning at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood. Family members identified the boy as Lorvens Julien.
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Medical staff told investigators they were concerned about a strange odor — that was possibly gas —- coming from the boy's body, the Broward Sheriff's Office said in a release.
That prompted deputies and firefighters to go to the boy’s home in nearby West Park to investigate and look for any other possible victims, the release said.
One deputy began having trouble breathing as he left the home, officials said. He was taken to a hospital for treatment.
HAZMAT teams with the sheriff's office and Hollywood Fire Rescue took readings and samples to determine if any hazardous chemicals were present. After several sweeps of the house, they deemed it safe for detectives to continue their death investigation. No hazardous or harmful materials were found.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright told news outlets the boy's family took him to the hospital on Tuesday because he was feeling ill. He was treated and released. But his father took him back to the hospital on Wednesday because he was still sick. Officials say he died around 9 a.m.
Coleman-Wright said no one else living at the home was sick or had any injuries.
A cause of death has not yet been determined.