A 3-year-old Texas girl died after she was found unresponsive in a bathtub by her mother at their Decatur home.
Eve Blankenfeld was taking a bath on March 1 with her mother in the room.
Her mother then left.
“The mother put her child in the bathtub and then walked into another room to tend to two other kids,” Decatur Police Rex Hoskins told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “She came back and found the child face-down in the bathtub.”
The mother pulled the girl out of the tub and tried to do CPR after contacting the police. She was rushed to the hospital and transferred to a hospital in Fort Worth, about 34 miles away, but passed away on March 5.
“It was a tragic accident,” Hoskins said.
According to WFAA, police will not charge the girl’s parents over the accident.
A GoFundMe for Eve’s family was started by a family friend.
“We are deeply saddened to inform you that on the evening of March 5th, 2019, Eve passed away and returned to her Heavenly Father. We are relieved her passing was peaceful and painless,” the friend wrote. “Eve was in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for 5 days and had an amazing team of doctors and nurses working around the clock. Please continue to pray for this family as they mourn the loss of their daughter. Any donations will be greatly appreciated, and will go to help this family overcome the financial burden of this tragedy.”
3-year-old dies after she was left unattended in bathtub, Decatur police say https://t.co/RCHKqjNOrq pic.twitter.com/K9J59Z8aeD
— WFAA (@wfaa) March 7, 2019
Child Drownings
Drowning was the leading cause of unintentional deaths among children ages 1 to 4 in 2012, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
From 2006 to 2010, there were 684 incidents involving children younger than 5 years old, according to a report by the commission. That includes 434 deaths.
More than four in five of the incidents took place in bathtubs or involved bath-related products, with pools being the second leading location for child drownings.
“Too many young children are drowning,” said Inez Tenenbaum, chairman of the commission. “Just as with pools, I urge parents and caregivers to childproof their home and constantly supervise young children around bathtubs, bath seats, and buckets. Taking extra safety steps at home can help prevent a tragic drowning.”
In an update published in 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that unintentional injuries, including drownings, were the leading causes of death for children ages 1 to 4.
“Each year, about 4,000 people drown in the United States; drowning kills more children 1-4 years of age than anything else except birth defects,” the agency stated. “Among children 1-14, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death (after motor vehicle crashes).”
“More than half of those who are treated in an emergency department for drowning require hospitalization or transfer for further care (compared with about 6 percent of all unintentional injuries). A person who survives drowning may suffer lasting consequences like brain damage,” it added.
Safety tips include never leaving young children alone near any water or fluid, always keeping a young child within arm’s reach when they’re taking a bath, and placing locks on toilet seat covers.
Parents should also know CPR so they can perform it if needed.
Drownings also kill a number of older children and adults every years, with a lack of swimming ability, lack of close supervision, and failure to wear life jackets among the causes.
Alcohol use among youth and adults is also involved in up to 70 percent of deaths associated with water recreation. “Alcohol influences balance, coordination, and judgment, and its effects are heightened by sun exposure and heat,” the CDC stated.
