Death by Swing Set

http://www.kpho.com/news/27916540/detail.html


".....A neighbor said Houston's mother untangled him, and an aunt started CPR.
"The child, they believe may have been playing on the swing set for 20 to 30 minutes. Again they are not certain for how long. Obviously it is important to keep an eye on your children especially young children, but in this case, it just seems like an unfortunate accident," said Spurgin......

A neighbor said Houston was not breathing when emergency crews arrived. He was transported to a local hospital and then taken by helicopter to Cardon's Children's Hospital in Mesa.

The family has set up a memorial account.
Donations to the Houston Smith memorial fund can be made by referencing the account number 5994776895 at any Wells Fargo bank."




Sales near the above subject property
Nearby Similar Sales
15548 E Via Del Palo, Gilbert, AZ 85298
Sold on 03/04/2011: $258,700
Beds: -- Sqft: 2016 Built: 2000 Baths: -- Lot: 55796
23304 S 156th St, Gilbert, AZ 85298
Sold on 01/21/2011: $229,000
Beds: 3 Sqft: 1850 Built: 1998 Baths: 2.0 Lot: 43560
2711 E Courtney St, Gilbert, AZ 85298
Sold on 04/12/2011: $240,000
Beds: 4 Sqft: 2375 Built: 2007 Baths: 2.5 Lot: 435600


Why would people living in 250k houses on 2 acre lots need to set up a fund for donations? I suppose it could be a fund for donations to a favorite charity of the boy's in lieu of flowers, but somehow I doubt it and bet it's for funeral costs.

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If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

I can't be the only one who thinks it's incredibly tacky, not to mention suspicious, that the family immediately set up a bank account to accept donations. But I'm sure that the mother Has Suffered Enough and will not be charged with any wrongdoing.

Also, why post the bank account number?? Isn't that setting them up for fraud?

It shows a picture of the swing set and it's the expensive wooden kind and looks to be in good working condition. I can't imagine HOW a kid got strangled on it, but I am certain that a lawsuit against the swing set company will follow and we'll find out.

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If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

http://www.khou.com/news/Texas-tot-killed-when-swing-set-topples-104778244.html



This is the ONLY other swing set death that I could find, but this was a home made one that toppled over on an 11 month old that wasn't properly anchored. Here are the "tips" for safety from the National Safety Council regarding swing sets:



Parents: It's important to routinely check to make sure the swing set your kids play on is safe.
The National Safety Council recommends choosing a swing set that can be changed or upgraded as your child grows.
Secure the legs of the set with anchors or concrete.
Slides should be no steeper than 30 degrees.
Avoid sets with "S" hooks; they can pinch and cut little fingers.
Any rings on your set should be smaller than five inches in diameter or larger than 10 inches.


No where on here does it say anything about a choking hazard. Perhaps it was a genuine freak accident. We will soon find out it's effect depending on any future copy cat "accidents". I believe that sometimes these "accidents", like Locked in Hot Car Syndrome, start out with ONE legitimate and publicized freak accident like this might actually be. Then, shitty parents with murder on their minds use it as mode of retro-abortion after seeing nothing happen to the first true victim's parents except community support, candle light vigils, and memorial funds brimming with cash. Perhaps they need to rename this boy's memorial fund to, "Awareness of Swing Set Dangers", so like it's cousin, Locked in Hot Car Syndrome and Backover-Frontover Mishaps, millions can go into public service announcements like Kids and Cars.

It makes more sense than holding the parents responsible for watching their own children and criminally liable when they die from parental negligence.

------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

The only possible explanation I can think of (for this to be a real accident) is that he liked to swing as high as possible to try to make it loop over the pole, and succeeded--and when he did he was jerked from the seat and the chain twisted around and hung him.

It sounds pretty difficult, but I suppose it could happen once. Infinite number of monkeys and all...

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yurble
The only possible explanation I can think of (for this to be a real accident) is that he liked to swing as high as possible to try to make it loop over the pole, and succeeded--and when he did he was jerked from the seat and the chain twisted around and hung him.

It sounds pretty difficult, but I suppose it could happen once. Infinite number of monkeys and all...

I doubt that's it because as an older kid of about ten, I tried that on numerous swing sets at various times and I never came anywhere close to being able to do that. I don't think that the kid could muster the centrifugal force necessary to swing over like that. I suppose he could have stood up on the seat of the swing and wound himself round and round until the chain got twisted around his throat, but even that would take some doing. Maybe it will come out that he had "special needs" like the boy who died from positional asphyxiation after having hid in that box with the packing foam balls and then suffocating himself.

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If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

The kid could have been fooling around and wound it around his neck, then did more fooling around and hung himself.

That said, just where was the swingset..as in how far away from the house was it? Either it was rather far away and the mother couldn't get there in time to save the kid, or it was closer and she was involved with something else or was distracted or ignoring the kid. "Oh it's so quiet! How blissful! Hey, wait a minute!"

Speaking of a "hey wait a minute", the mom untangled the kid from the swingset and an aunt started cpr?! So there were (at least) two people ignoring the kid?

I'm surprised they even admitted the kid was unsupervised for 20-30 minutes. This is one of many reasons I don't want to have kids...you have to watch the little fuckers like hawks because they seem driven to darwinize themselves.

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gwdzee

I'm surprised they even admitted the kid was unsupervised for 20-30 minutes. This is one of many reasons I don't want to have kids...you have to watch the little fuckers like hawks because they seem driven to darwinize themselves.

When I was 10, I played outside hour after hour and somehow never managed to kill myself. Are they feeding the kids stupid pills these days?

Quote

Parents: It's important to routinely check to make sure the swing set your kids play on is safe.
The National Safety Council recommends choosing a swing set that can be changed or upgraded as your child grows.
Secure the legs of the set with anchors or concrete.
Slides should be no steeper than 30 degrees.
Avoid sets with "S" hooks; they can pinch and cut little fingers.

For shit's sake. Like pretty much everyone my age, we had one of those EL CHEAPO metal swingsets that lacked any of these "features" when I was a kid. You know, the kind you would actually TRY to tip over or at least see how high you could get one set of legs off the ground. smile

Soooo much fail going on in this story. You can try to kid-proof a swingset to the moon, but you STILL don't leave a freaking 4-year-old unsupervised for 30 minutes. Jesus! We ebil childfrees know that much.

And Houston? Ugh.

Good sleuthing work on the home sales, Kim. It does make their "memorial fund" stink to high heaven. :BS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shauna's like a gluten-free Jim Jones for dumb, lifeless middle-aged women. I swear, this bitch could set fire to a orphanage and they would applaud her for bringing them light. ~ Miss Hannigan

No swingset (public or private) had any of those "needed" safety feature when/where I was growing up.
There was no serious injury or death.

The more safety features that have been included, the stupider people have become.
We learned to respect the boundaries so that serious things did not happen.

http://www.cpsc.gov/library/playground.pdf


‰"From January 1990 through August 2000, CPSC received reports of at least 90
fatal incidents that occurred in home locations. This represents about 70
percent of all playground-related deaths at known locations..........

Almost three-fourths (66) of the deaths in home locations resulted from
hanging from ropes, cords, homemade rope swings, and similar items. Other
deaths resulted from home equipment tipover or collapse, falls from
equipment, and other causes. In all locations, over one-half of the deaths
involved hanging. Other causes of playground equipment-related deaths
included falls, equipment tipover or collapse, entrapment, or impact with
moving components......."


Why can't these kids play on a swing set without hanging themselves or choking to death?

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If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

Quote
CrabCake
For shit's sake. Like pretty much everyone my age, we had one of those EL CHEAPO metal swingsets that lacked any of these "features" when I was a kid. You know, the kind you would actually TRY to tip over or at least see how high you could get one set of legs off the ground. smile

LOL...we had an tippable aluminum set from K-Mart and we LIKED it. We LOVED it. And my parents were so considerate, they installed the swinget in the corner of the yard that always flooded.

And I'm with everyone congratulating Kim on her sleuthing. I know when a family member dies, the first thing i want to do is run to the fucking bank.

--------------------
"[GFG's pregnancy is] kind of like at the stables where that one dumb, ugly-ass mare broke out of her corral one day and got herself screwed by the equally fugly colt that was due to be gelded the same afternoon."- Shiny

That swingset cost over a grand. If they sell it it should cover at least part of kyd's funeral costs.

Otherwise, now they have one less mouth to feed, clothe, educate, and find daycare for. They need a "memorial fund" why?

How fucking dumb are they making them now? Is there something in the gene pool, do they feed them beffudlement potions, have people stopped parenting? In what universe is it acceptable to ignore a 4-year old for half an hour?

We had all sorts of "unsafe" playground equipment and nobody got seriously injured or died. One kid in my kindergarden group jumped from a swing and broke his arm. His parents told him that he deserved it for being an idiot. I bet that taught him to be more careful.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
" ... what's one more once you've already got two shedding on the couch?"

http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/a54e5bfc81b44466b275acfe6dbf629c/AZ-Swing-Set-Death/



Update

".....The boy's mother found him in the backyard of their Gilbert home hanging from a nylon strap that had been added to the swing set...."

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If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_southeast_valley/gilbert/mcso%3A-boy-tangled-in-swing-set-found-unconscious-in-gilbert


and more clues......................


"...............................She also said the boy's mother had been inside taking care of an infant.......

The boy was transported to the hospital in extremely critical condition and he died Tuesday, according to Cardon Children's Medical Center spokeswoman Lindsay Carrillo.

Spurgin said the boy somehow got a rope tied around his neck while playing.

Spurgin also said it appeared the rope was not part of the original swing set and looked like someone had put it up near the swing......"

------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

"Hmm, the cops are getting suspicious of 'SIDS' and children 'accidentally' being left in hot cars to die. What to do, what to do... I know! We'll tie this to the swing set and let Snowflake 'accidentally hang himself'! After all, even the gummint says, 'Almost three-fourths (66) of the deaths in home locations resulted from hanging from ropes, cords, homemade rope swings, and similar items.' Hope nobody smells the BS here, hee hee! And show me the money!"

Get a life. You dont even know these people. I happen to know them very well and KNOW that she was the BEST mother a child could ever have and he was her life. They are going through enough to have to listen to judgemental ignorant people likeYOU must think you are pretty perfect! HOPE a tragedy never comes into your life.

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Rene Lopez
Get a life. You dont even know these people. I happen to know them very well and KNOW that she was the BEST mother a child could ever have and he was her life. They are going through enough to have to listen to judgemental ignorant people likeYOU must think you are pretty perfect! HOPE a tragedy never comes into your life.

http://www.flirtbox.co.uk/91AFC5guys-msn-addies-bebo
Really? Well chocoholic01@msn.com, Explain the odds that you can you be posting from Glascow on a UK dating website AND be acquainted with a family who had a freak accident occur who are from and currently residing in Arizona? I'd say that the odds of that would be astronomical. STFU you bimbo.:yeah

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If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

http://www.flirtbox.co.uk/chocoholic01

Go there to see a pic of Paula, AKA, "Rene Lopez" and read all about her on her profile page.larious




Chocoholic01SexualityFemale seeking Male
Age22
StarsignAries
AreaUnited Kingdom, Scotland,

Town-Glasgow
Last Login10/03/2011Member since27/02/2010
Homepagehttp://www.flirtbox.co.uk/chocoholic01

MY APPEARANCE
Height5´ 6" (168 cm)Bodyshape-slender-Haircolour-always changing Hairstyle-long-Eyecolour-blue
General appearance-European/White

MY LIFE
Occupation-Nursery Nurse Which of course sums it all upm

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If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

Cheapo Metal Swing Set People:

Anyone else have BEES living in the poles?

Ours had bees and wasps living in the top cross pole.

These eventually rendered the thing useless, despite tries at plugging various holes. I don't think ours was 'sunk' into the ground or tethered either - so the movement would rile up the bees and they'd all come flying out.

Quote
Zzelda
Cheapo Metal Swing Set People:

Anyone else have BEES living in the poles?

Ours had bees and wasps living in the top cross pole.

These eventually rendered the thing useless, despite tries at plugging various holes. I don't think ours was 'sunk' into the ground or tethered either - so the movement would rile up the bees and they'd all come flying out.

larious My first (and only) bee sting came when I climbed on the crossbar of the A-frame to get a good look inside the hollow top tube and BAM! I got stung on my upper lip, fell down in the mud and cried for mama.

A rocking, rusted out, swamp-ridden death trap full of bees...

--------------------
"[GFG's pregnancy is] kind of like at the stables where that one dumb, ugly-ass mare broke out of her corral one day and got herself screwed by the equally fugly colt that was due to be gelded the same afternoon."- Shiny

Quote
Miss_Hannigan

Quote
Zzelda
Cheapo Metal Swing Set People:

Anyone else have BEES living in the poles?

Ours had bees and wasps living in the top cross pole.

These eventually rendered the thing useless, despite tries at plugging various holes. I don't think ours was 'sunk' into the ground or tethered either - so the movement would rile up the bees and they'd all come flying out.

larious My first (and only) bee sting came when I climbed on the crossbar of the A-frame to get a good look inside the hollow top tube and BAM! I got stung on my upper lip, fell down in the mud and cried for mama.

A rocking, rusted out, swamp-ridden death trap full of bees...

I had one of those too! Yet, despite that we all survived without choking on a loose screw, anaphylactic shock from a bee sting, or hanging ourselves from a makeshift swing-rope that we ALL undoubtedly had. Did kids even get killed by swing sets and bunk beds before the 1990's? If they did, then I don't remember hearing about it.

------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

Yeah, and I swear we must have hung a clothesline rope "noose" from the swingset at one time or another, after watching a cartoon or movie with a hanging man in it. Were we stupid enough to actually use it around our necks? HELL NO!

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"[GFG's pregnancy is] kind of like at the stables where that one dumb, ugly-ass mare broke out of her corral one day and got herself screwed by the equally fugly colt that was due to be gelded the same afternoon."- Shiny

Has anyone else noticed that the "safer" they try to make things for children the more frequently we hear about some kid seriously injuring or offing themselves with/on it?