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Mike Tyson's Daughter in Critical Condition

Exodus Tyson, 4, was found hanging from a cord on an exercise treadmill.

ByABC News
May 25, 2009, 7:22 PM

May 25, 2009 -- Exodus Tyson, the 4-year-old daughter of former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is in critical condition at a Phoenix hospital after her 7-year-old brother found her hanging from a cord from an exercise treadmill.

Exodus is on life support and in extremely critical condition, according to a statement released by the Phoenix police department.

Phoenix Police Sgt. Andy Hill told ABC News affiliate KNXV-TV it appeared that the treadmill cord had been wrapped around the child's neck.

The incident occurred while the child's mother was cleaning the house and the toddler was playing in a playroom, according to a statement from Phoenix police.

When the 34-year-old woman sent her 7-year-old son to see what little Exodus was doing, the boy found her "in distress," the police statement said.

He called his mother, who found her on a treadmill with a cable that was attached to the exercise machine wrapped around her neck, police said.

Police said the child's mother ran into the room, freed her from the cord, called 911 and then started CPR.

When police arrived, the girl was unreponsive, and they immediately took over from the woman performing CPR. Fire department workers arrived moments later, and replaced the officers performing CPR, the police said.

The child was eventually taken to St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, where she was listed in critical condition on life support late today, KNXV reported.

Police said that based on the initial investigation, including information from the responding officers, interviews with the mother and son, and a preliminary examination of the scene, it appears that this was "a tragic accident."

Officials from the Phoenix Fire Department told KNXV-TV that the woman who called 911, just after 10:30 a.m. today, initially reported an electrocution from a treadmill cord, but then changed her story to say that there had been a hanging.

Tyson, the subject of a new documentary by James Toback, was not in Phoenix at the time of the accident, but returned immediately when he was contacted, police said.

He arrived at the hospital late this afternoon, but did not speak to reporters as he walked into the building, KNXV-TV reported.

"He's a really nice guy, definitely a guy I don't want anything bad happening to him, so I hope it is an accident, and I'm pretty sure it probably is an accident, and I hope everything works out," neighbor Shafiq Khalik told the ABC affiliate. "It's very tragic."