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A York County family has a warning. Their toddler son died when a dresser tipped over on him. They hope other parents will be alerted to furniture dangers around the house.
Corey Halpin of Dover Township would have turned two later this month. "He just wanted to be loved," said Corey's parents, Jim and Gail Halpin of Dover Township. "He was content to sit in your lap and just stay there."
The Halpins put Corey to bed on Monday night. But later, he crawled into a dresser drawer in his bedroom to play. "His weight made the drawer fall over," said his mother. "And the drawer hit the floor and it went in and it crushed his neck."
Corey's three-year old brother alerted his parents, who called an ambulance. "There wasn't anything they could do. He was gone. He was gone already," said Mrs. Halpin.
Two years ago Don Mays of Consumer Reports showed us the dangers of furniture and children. Mays recommended that taller pieces of furniture be fastened to the wall with a strap or some kind of bracket to prevent such accidents. The Halpins want to send the same warning to all parents who hear about their son's tragic death.
Mrs. Halpin said, "We even bought some wall brackets for our furniture when we first moved in and we just procrastinated on it and never did it."
Corey's Dad had put clips on the dresser drawers to keep the kids out, but he says the dresser's bottom drawer design was such that the clips could not be installed. That's the drawer Corey crawled into.
"We never thought this could happen to us but it can happen to any family with young children," said Mrs. Halpin.
Some pieces of new furniture come with the wall attachment straps but you have to install them. You can also buy the strap kits at some hardware stores and online.
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