6-Year-Old Dies from E. Coli After McDonald’s Meal

A heartbreaking tragedy has left a Massachusetts community in shock after 6-year-old Angelica Vazquez died from what her devastated mother believes was a fatal case of E. coli, possibly linked to a McDonald’s cheeseburger.

Angelica, a vibrant first-grader, had been full of excitement on Halloween night. She donned a Minnie Mouse costume and enjoyed a McDonald’s meal with her family before heading out for trick-or-treating. By the next evening, everything changed.

“She started throwing up, but she said, ‘No, my belly just hurts,’” recalled her mother, Samantha Ocasio, speaking to MassLive. Ocasio, a mother of seven, thought it was a simple stomach bug. She gave her daughter Gatorade and told her to rest, believing it would pass.

But it didn’t.

A Sudden Turn for the Worse

On November 2, two days after Halloween, Angelica’s condition took a sudden and tragic turn. After a bubble bath, she collapsed and went into cardiac arrest. Paramedics rushed her to Baystate Medical Center, but despite doctors’ efforts, she died just 12 hours later.

The last words Angelica said to her mother were, “I love you.”

“I’m going to miss a lot of firsts with her,” Ocasio said through tears in an interview with WBTV. “It’s just a lot.”

A Possible Link to McDonald’s

Federal health officials have recently linked an E. coli outbreak to slivered onions used on some McDonald’s burgers. The outbreak, which sickened more than 100 people across 13 states, prompted McDonald’s to temporarily halt sales of certain burgers and switch suppliers at nearly 900 locations.

However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not confirmed any cases of the outbreak in Massachusetts.

Still, Ocasio believes the cheeseburger Angelica ate could be the source of the deadly infection.

“My whole concern is, if it wasn’t the McDonald’s, then what was it?” Ocasio questioned. “She was happy. She was healthy. It was the only thing she ate that was different from her siblings.”

Angelica’s brothers and sisters all chose chicken nuggets instead of cheeseburgers that night and showed no signs of illness.

McDonald’s Responds

McDonald’s issued a statement expressing their condolences to the family.

“We are absolutely heartbroken for this family’s loss, and we extend our deepest sympathies,” the company said. “We take any and every report of a potential food safety issue seriously.”

The fast-food giant emphasized that there have been no confirmed cases of E. coli linked to their Massachusetts locations.

“Upon being made aware of this devastating report, we immediately reached out to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, our third-party experts, and our supply chain team. Public health officials have not connected any reports of E. coli to McDonald’s in Massachusetts or the broader northeast region.”

A Mother’s Warning

While investigations continue, Ocasio is urging other parents to remain vigilant.

“I’ve heard of E. coli before,” she said. “But never in a million years did I think I’d be sitting here, talking about my child dying from it.”

As health officials work to determine the exact cause of Angelica’s illness, Ocasio hopes sharing her story will prevent another family from facing the same nightmare.

“I don’t want this to happen to anyone else’s kids,” she said. “I lost my baby. And it happened so fast—so, so fast.”