Mike Tyson's 4 year old daughter was pronounced dead at 11:45am on Tuesaday

  Mike Tyson is shown in a scene from, "Tyson." (AP Photo/Sony Pictures Classics)

Mike Tyson's 4 year old daughter was pronounced dead at 11:45am (MST) on Tuesday. "Exodus Tyson's 7-year-old brother found her Monday with her neck in a cord dangling from the exercise machine," police Sgt. Andy Hill said. - Fox News

According to Seattlepi, Her mother removed the cord, which hung from the treadmill console, and desperately tried to revive her before Exodus was rushed to a Phoenix hospital.

What can be more horrific for a parent to have to go through than discovering that their child has accidentally killed themselves? When I read about Tyson's daughter's accidental hanging, this morning in the news, my heart really broke for him. The hardest thing to get over is that these horrible accidents do happen all the time. Only a few weeks ago, in Columbia, Mo. a 12 year old was found dead after an accidental hanging, a month before that a 4-year-old was accidentally killed in Kansas after he was ran over with the family truck when the brake became dislodged while he was behind it.  Accidental deaths are a major problem that claim hundreds of thoudands of lives every year. 

According to the National Vital Statistics report for 2005 there were 114,807 accidental deaths in 2005 alone. Which is quite a big jump from 2002 where they reported a total of 97,900 accidental deaths. According to the two reports, accidental deaths of those between the ages of 1 and 14 years actually dropped, while the number of accidental deaths of those under a year old rose by about two hundred deaths.

2002 - Accidental deaths between 1 an d 14 years old
1- 4 years old: 1,826
5-14 years old: 2,979
2005 - Accidental deaths between 1 and 14 years old
1-4 years old: 1,664
5-14 years old: 2,415

2002 - Accidental deaths of those under the age of 1 year
881
2005 - Accidental deaths of those under the age of 1 year
1,083

While I was researching this article I was surprised to see that the largest jump in accidental deaths was in the ages between 55 and up, with an incredible jump in deaths between the ages of 75 and up.

2002 Accidental deaths between 55 and over 85
55 - 64 years old: 7,505
65 - 74 years old: 7,698
75 - 85 years old: 11,758
Over 85 years old: 11, 595
2005 Accidental deaths between 55 and over 85
55 - 64 years old: 21,108
65 - 74 years old: 27,236
75 - 84 years old: 56,700
Over 85 years old: 79,449

What is going on to bring awareness to this tragedy?
According to the East Lancashire Accident Prevention Strategy 2008 – 2011, a specific target was set for reducing death rates and serious injury by 2010:“To reduce the death rate from accidents by at least one fifth and to reduce the rate of serious injury by at least one tenth by2010 – saving up to 12,000 lives in total” (DOH, 1999). You can download their free e-book here.

How can you reach out to someone who has lost a child or loved one by an accidental death? The church should be right there to help, but how?

"... listen, let them know you care, help them practically, and above all be patient and nonjudgmental. They can get through this darkest period of their lives and move on to rebuilding their life together. And if they make it through this, they can handle anything." Dr. Neill Neill.

Practical help, not advise, is what those family members really need. Giving opinions as to why it happened, what was the purpose, or God deciding to pick a flower for His garden in heaven does not help anyone. This will only make matters worse, and I know a father who completely turned his back on God, Church, and his faith, because of the injustice of God taking his daughter. Words can be much more harmful than a hand.

One church in Wichita Ks., after hearing about a family whose 8 year old son accidentally hung himself in the garage with his father's tools, took several bags of groceries, gas cards, and a few hundred dollars on a gift card to the house and dropped them off. They left a card saying that the church was praying for them and if they needed anything feel free to call. This goes so much further than words.

Personally, after hearing about Tyson's tragedy, reading the reports, digging through the statistics, and spending a considerable amount of time on on-line searching out the topic I don't believe that there's enough happening to bring awareness to this tragedy.

Please, pray for Mike Tyson and his family

Samuel Connelly / Wichita Christian Faith & Culture

Drop me a line and tell me what's on your mind, or feel free to send me an e-mail.

sam@samthewriter.com

For more information:
Dr. Neill Neill's website resource
Eggman's Statistics Report : 2005
National Vital Statistics Report :2005
East Lancashire Accident Prevention Strategy 2008-2011

Related Stories:
Fox News
Seattle PI