Advertisement Girl, 4, dies after incident at Enfield day care HHS: Day care was operating without license Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A 4-year-old girl has died, days after an incident at a day care in Enfield.Click here to view News 9’s report“Willa Shine Clark was a bright light in our lives. She illuminated many of the paths that she crossed. She died on Wednesday, March 26 as the result of injuries suffered under tragic circumstances on Monday. We appreciate the outpouring of support from our friends and the community, and we are strengthened by that support. We will share information about a celebration of Willa’s life soon. For now, we appreciate the respect of the community while we grieve privately the loss of our daughter,” Cara and Michael Clark said in a statement regarding their daughter's death.The girl was found hanging by her coat while playing outside of the home day care in Enfield on Monday.Several children were playing outside when the girl’s coat got stuck on a branch and began choking her, police said.Police did not identify the day care they responded to Monday afternoon.“It appears the child had gotten hung up on a lean-to-type stick with her jacket. It may have gotten caught and that cut of her airway,” said Chief Richard Crate Jr., of the Enfield Police Department.The day care provider had stepped away for just a few moments, police said.“She had another child that was inside so she had gone inside,” Crate said. “She was kind of going back and forth, is what she reported, and so she was not there when this accident happened.”The day care was operating without a license, according to the Child Care Licensing Unit of the Department of Health and Human Services.There was a licensed day care at the address where the incident happened, but that license lapsed seven or eight years ago. Licenses are required if a day care is caring for more than three children.