Police Investigating Baby Girl's Death at Day Care Center

Police are examining the circumstances surrounding the death of a 9-month-old girl while in the custody of a Brooklyn day care provider.

Authorities said Savannah Straker was at the Land of Tyree Day Care on Conklin Avenue in Canarsie yesterday when she lost consciousness. Emergency responders brought her to Brookdale Hospital at about 11 a.m., where she died a half hour later, police said.

Police said there were no obvious signs of trauma on the child's body, although the Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. When reached by phone, a day care facility employee refused to comment.

Sources at the Health Department, which licenses city day care facilities, indicated that Land of Tyree's license most recently was renewed in June. On July 11, however, it was cited for a lack of adequate emergency exits. No other violations were reported, and the city received no other complaints about the facility, sources said. The day care's license runs through June 2007.

Last night, a spokeswoman for the Administration for Children's Services said it would conduct an investigation into the infant's death. Without speculating on what might have happened in this case, the spokeswoman said it was not unusual for ACS to investigate when a child so young has died.