A holiday to remember

  • Published
  • By Brian Meverden
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  You have family and friends visiting for the holidays and you have lots of food and drinks available, activities for the kids and everybody is having a great time.

One of the kids comes into the living room and asks for help changing the channel on the TV in the extra room you had set up for them for this party. You’re in the middle of a great conversation and politely remind them to wait until the conversation is finished before interrupting. You go back to your conversation and forget about changing the channel. Besides, your 13-year-old daughter is there to take care of the kids and make sure they stay entertained.

A little time passes when you hear a crash from the extra room and a lot of yelling and screaming. Everyone runs to the room and you immediately recognize Sarah and Harry’s 4-year-old girl under the TV set and dresser. After moving the items you notice bleeding from the nose and mouth and she is unresponsive. Your daughter comes running into the room with her cell phone in hand asking what’s going on. An ambulance is called so the 4-year-old can be transported to the hospital where her parents spend all night crying and pacing the halls before she passes away in the early morning hours.

The police were called in to investigate, but officers describe her death as a tragic accident and the matter has been passed to the coroner. A police spokesman said “As a result of a very sad and tragic accident, which was reported to police at 8:20 p.m., a 4-year-old girl passed away at the hospital in the early morning hours. The family is understandably very distraught by the tragic accident and request to be left alone during this incredibly difficult time.”

During the investigation, it was revealed the child pulled out a few of the bottom drawers of a chest of drawers being used as a stand to climb up and reach the TV to change the channel. Of the five drawers, the two bottom drawers were full of books and the rest were empty. The TV was an old CRT model weighing 73 pounds. When the child pulled out the two lower drawers to climb, the furniture being used as a stand became very unstable and the TV came down on top of her, resulting in multiple internal injuries.

Unfortunately, the cause and result above is true. The details of exactly what happened are unclear, but you’ve been given a realistic scenario of how such mishaps can occur.

As the holidays approach and you begin planning; take the time to look closely at the environment and who will be occupying it. Common sense isn’t common. If you’re the one visiting and see something, don’t just say something, do something. Take time in planning your activities, consider all the possibilities and have a safe and enjoyable holiday season.