Addressing Child Safety After Boy Falls Out Window
Addressing Child Safety After Boy Falls Out Window2:25
By Marci Izard
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (abc40) On Monday night, a Springfield toddler died after falling out of a three story window on Kensington Avenue.
"He said I love you mom, you're my best buddy ... and that was the last thing he said," his mother, Alicia, told ABC40 on Tuesday.
Two year old Lukas Laboy was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center. It's a tragedy that Dr. Ronald Gross, Chief of the Division of Trauma and Emergency Services at Baystate Medical Center, says happens every year -especially in the summer.
"Unfortunately it's more common that we would like to think," he says.
According to Safe Kids Worldwide, every year, nearly four thousand kids, mostly toddlers, fall out of windows in the U.S. 28 percent of those require hospitalization - about a dozen die.
Dr. Gross says when it comes to child safety, window screens are not sufficient. He says the best option - is to buy window guards.
"They are mandated by law in New York and in Connecticut -for any second story building," he says.
Dr. Gross says other important child safety tips include: keeping furniture away from windows and opening windows from the top, instead of the bottom.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I am Lukas Laboy's mother. On June 5th 2009, there was a scheduled inspection from Springfield Housing Court for Atlas Property Managment. My son died 10 days after that day, and I was approached the morning of his death. Atlas said they would be by on the 16th of June at 9am. After my son died, I never heard from them until 2 weeks after he passed. If they had done thier job, my son would still be here today. Inspecting the faulty windows was just one of the many concerns in this apartment. I am afraid of hieghts, and would never leave the window open. Had I know, I would have shut it.
ReplyDelete