KOKOMO, Ind. – A Kokomo father is sending a heartbreaking message he says all of us need to hear after his 3-year-old daughter was killed Thursday by a falling TV.
“She just learned her ABCs and she learned how to swim this summer,” Jesse Miniear said of his daughter Olivia. “(She was) not allowed to jump on the furniture – not allowed to throw balls in the house – never allowed to play out front because we live on a busy street.”
But this past week when he moved 3-year-old Olivia and her 7-year-old sister into the same bedroom, he overlooked one thing he says will haunt him for the rest of his life.
He didn’t anchor the TV to the wall that he’d placed on their dresser.
“You’d never think a decision like that’s going to be the worst decision of your life,” Miniear said.
Olivia was climbing to reach the remote for the TV when the television slipped off the dresser and landed on the girl, killing her immediately.
Miniear says he knew it was a potential danger, but put off anchoring it to the wall.
“That one moment where I doubted my instinct and let that TV slide – I’ll never forgive myself,” he said.
Miniear has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for his daughter’s funeral.
And although he says he is very broken up about what happened, he says he spoke to us because he wants other parents to know how easy it can be to lose your child if you don’t anchor large objects to the wall.
According to safekids.org, one child dies every three weeks from a television tipping over. On average, a child is taken to the emergency room every 45 minutes because a TV fell on them.
To prevent accidents, mount flat panel TV's to the wall to prevent them from falling off of stands.
If you have a heavier tube TV, place it on a low, stable piece of furniture that is appropriate for the TV's size and weight.
