Oklahoma Ranks Below National Average In Child Accidential Death Report

Tuesday, May 1st 2007, 6:00 am

By: News On 6

The first-ever nationwide study into child deaths from accidental injuries was released this week by Safe Kids Worldwide. â€œWeâ€™re encouraged that Oklahoma ranks below the national average on its childrenâ€™s accidental injury deaths during the summer, but every child killed by a preventable injury is one too many,â€ said Mary Beth Ogle, coordinator of Safe Kids Tulsa. â€œWe donâ€™t want parents, caregivers or policymakers to become complacent.â€

According to the study, Oklahoma ranks 15th. The study ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia according to the number of summertime accidental injury deaths per 100,000 children in their state.

The study says an average of 17 children a day died from May to August in 2004 due to injuries, many of which could have been prevented.

The release of the study coincides with the kick-off of National Safe Kids Week. To read more about the study, click here.