Baby ingests alcohol not saline, dies

CINCINNATI (AP) - An Ohio coroner says a 7-month-old Indiana baby died after his body was flushed with alcohol and not a saline solution during heart surgery at a Cincinnati hospital.

Hamilton County Coroner O'dell Owens says Cincinnati Children's Medical Center reported the Aug. 21 death of Tressel Meinardi of Richmond, Ind., to his office that night. Owens says Children's reported that alcohol was accidentally put into the baby's body rather than the saline solution.

The hospital has said it cannot comment due to federal privacy laws.

Owens says there's "no question a mistake was made" and that the boy's family knows about the alcohol.

Messages seeking further comment were left at the coroner's office and at the home of Meinardi's parents, Scott and Emilie Meinardi.