Oliver Lomas, The Internet Famous ‘Bernie Baby’ And Unofficial Bernie Sanders Mascot, Has Died

https://twitter.com/Vets4Bernie/status/699050919921586176

Oliver Jack Carter Lomas-Davis, who became a viral sensation and the unofficial Bernie Sanders campaign mascot after his appearance at a rally in Las Vegas on February 14, suddenly died on February 25. According to an online memorial created by his mother, Susan Lomas, Oliver had just turned 4 months old eight days prior.

The babe “was an adorable infant who brought smiles to not only his family, but to millions online” when images of his Bernie Sanders costume — complete with a wig of white hair and a thick pair of glasses — spread across social media. In addition to the memorial page, his mother and several others mourned Oliver’s passing in multiple Twitter and Facebook posts. These included everything from images of his fateful meeting with Sanders at the Las Vegas rally, to personal family photos.

Lomas attributed her son’s death to SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The CDC, which commonly refers to SIDS cases as sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID), reports that around 3,500 children die annually in the United States because of this ambiguous and largely unknown category. Young children whose deaths are categorized as SUID are often found asleep “in an unsafe sleeping environment.” The precise circumstances that led to Oliver’s death are unknown at this time.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page was established by the Lomas family for “the wake, funeral, and burial expenses as well as any counseling the family may need.” A projected goal of $16,000 was established on February 27, and as of this writing, the fundraiser had drawn in almost $17,500 in donations.

(Via CBS News)