BRUNSWICK, Ga. — A Brunswick family is speaking out as they continue to mourn one-year-old Jamal Bryant Jr., who died at a day care on May 21st.
It has been 14 days since the toddler choked to death on a watermelon at The Kids Nest Learning Center.
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“We got in the car and drove to the hospital as fast as we could,” Jamal’s mother Taylor Hicks said.
After Jamal’s parents made it to the hospital, he was pronounced dead.
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The family held a funeral for Jamal on Sunday. Jamal’s mother said she will never forget the joy Jamal always had on his face.
“He just always smiled, played, loved his sister, and he loved all of us,” Taylor said.
“I got about five miles from the hospital. I then got the call that he already passed on,” Jamal’s grandfather Michael Hicks said.
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Michael said if the staff had formal qualifications at the day care, his grandson would still be alive.
“I think the slap in the face is to take your child to someone that you have to pay cash to keep your child only for them to kill your child,” he said.
The day care was issued an emergency closure after Jamal’s death.
Charles Grant, the owner of the day care, stated that he did not disagree with the 21-day emergency closure intended by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning.
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This caused the emergency closure to be immediately in effect.
Action News Jax reached out to the owner, but no one answered our calls.
The family is suing the owner of this day care. The family also hopes Jamal’s death will encourage other day cares to make safety a high priority.
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