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Gene Kennedy and Lance Bandley ReportingAn unspeakable tragedy hits a Salt Lake family. Their four-year-old son was killed in a horrible accident.
The child was playing alone on the swing set in the family's backyard around 8:00 last night. When the parents checked on him, they found him barely alive and called 911.
Lt. Gary Layton, Salt Lake City Police Dept.: "His parents went to check on him and they found that he was entangled in the swing. Apparently the ambulance transported him to Primary Children's Medical Center and he was pronounced dead there."
Somehow, the child had gotten caught in a chain on the swing set and accidentally hanged himself.
Police have spoken to the parents as well as neighbors, and say it appears this was just a very unfortunate accident.
This story is a sad reminder of how dangerous "playing" can be. While death is rare, injuries that require medical attention are not.
Children rarely think about safety when they hop on a swing set, they just want to play.
"One thing parents need to keep in mind is that part of play is being creative and because kids are being creative in their play they don't always use the equipment the way it was designed to be used."
Salt Lake County Injury Prevention Program Manager Kathy Chambers says they go out and inspect school playground equipment every year.
"Parents need to inspect their own play equipment to make sure that it's not broken, that the chains aren't worn out, that pieces aren't missing."
Chambers says you should always keep constant supervision on your child until they're 10 because it only takes a second for tragedy to strike.
Utah has actually been one of the first states to start tracking playground injuries and there are at least six-thousand every year.
Typically, the most accident prone spot on the playground is the monkey bars. The most common injuries are sprains or broken bones to arms and hands.
Cyndi Bemis, State Health Department: "The numbers are high, but the good news is there are lots of schools and districts going out and looking at their playgrounds, finding ways to make them safer."
And as the weather warms up, more and more children will be out and about playing, so adults are advised to keep an eye on them.
