Report released on child deaths in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Car accidents were the leading cause of death among the 396 children who died in Oklahoma in 2004, according to a recently released annual report. <br/><br/>Motor-vehicle accidents caused

Friday, February 24th 2006, 6:11 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Car accidents were the leading cause of death among the 396 children who died in Oklahoma in 2004, according to a recently released annual report.

Motor-vehicle accidents caused the most deaths at 62 percent, with 46 percent of victims not being properly restrained, according to the report released Thursday by the Oklahoma Child Death Review Board. The report runs at least a year behind because of the time required to study the circumstances surrounding each death.

While the official cause of death may be listed as motor vehicle accident, child abuse, drowning or fire, board members said drug and alcohol abuse often play a hidden role.

``A child may have drowned in a lake, but the parents may have been high,'' said board member Jay Brown of Shawnee.

Drowning was the second leading cause of accidental death, at 13 percent, with 28 deaths.

Lisa Rhoades, an administrator for the board, said about 79 percent of the drowning victims were boys, and 57 percent were ages 5 to 17. Sixty-eight percent of the drownings occurred in a natural body of water.

``It's not your younger toddlers that you think of falling in swimming pools,'' Rhoades said.

``A lot of people don't realize that when it floods, teenage males get outside and want to try out the flooded creeks.''

The board found 48 deaths were the result of child abuse or neglect, while 28 were firearms-related. Another 19 deaths were caused by fires and 91 were from natural causes, including 47 from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

The cause of 48 deaths could not be determined. The medical examiner said sleeping environment may have contributed to 40 of those deaths, with 33 of the deaths occurring while bed sharing.

About 41 percent of victims' families had previous contact with child welfare workers involving complaints of abuse or neglect.

``A lot of deaths are occurring'' in impoverished homes,'' Rhoades said. ``The public needs to realize that kids need a lot more direct supervision than is actually occurring.''

The review board was established in 1991 and began reviewing cases in 1993. It looks for systemic gaps and trends to develop recommendations to reduce preventable deaths.