TV crushes and kills 4 year old boy

CLARESHOLM – A single mother is sharing her grief after her son was crushed by a television in his bedroom.

4 year old Joseph Stewart started kindergarten in Claresholm September 3^rd, the same day a horrific accident claimed his life.

His mother recalls hearing him chattering with excitement as he went to bed that night, and then, suddenly, a loud noise.

“I heard a bang and I don’t think I walked up the stairs, honestly, I think I flew up those stairs,” says his mother, Wanda Stewart.

Stewart had climbed an entertainment unit in his bedroom and knocked an older-style tube television from its stand.

It fell directly on top of the boy and crushed him, killing him almost instantly.

“They said there was no saving him, it crushed his heart right away… the tv crushed his heart,” cries Stewart.

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Stewart says she’s braving judgment in telling her story to warn other parents.

“I hear about people losing kids all the time and I never thought in a million years it would happen to me.”

Injuries from falling television sets have been increasing at an alarming rate in recent years.

A study published in the journal Pediatrics in 2013 found nearly 200,000 children in the U.S. were injured by falling TV sets over a 20 year period.

Health Canada recommends families take the following precautions:

• Always supervise children in the home and teach them not to climb or hang from furniture.
• Choose storage furniture, such as bookcases, cabinets, television stands and dressers, with a wide and stable base that sits directly on the floor. Models with legs or wheels are more likely to tip over.
• Attach furniture to the wall using angle braces, anchors or safety straps. Secure to a stud if possible.
• Place televisions far back on low stable furniture that is designed to hold the weight and size of the television. Attach the television to the stand if possible.
• Do not place items that may appeal to a child, such as toys, plants and remote controls, on top of a television or tall furniture.
• Keep electric cords behind furniture where children cannot reach them.

For more information visit: http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/health-sante/injury-blessure/furniture-meubles-eng.php

Stewart’s friends have started a memorial fundraiser to help the family celebrate the little boy’s life: http://www.gofundme.com/e4plcg