Child Washer and Dryer Deaths
Hi everyone! I would like to start off my by saying I am so grateful for all the new people who have signed the petition! Over 800 signatures is a milestone I never thought possible. Words cannot possible express my gratitude and appreciation for each and every one of you.
As always, I have continued my research on washer/dryer related deaths and figured I would share some of them here in this update.
These are all deaths related to children, that being said I would like to issue a disclaimer that the following stories may be disturbing or difficult to read.
The fact that this is considered a “common occurrence” is absurd to me. These tragedies are preventable. The technology exists. How many lives have to be lost before we see a change?
With that being said, my heart and prayers go out to all the families affected by these horrific accidents.
Once again thank you all for the support.
-Kari ❤️
From news4sanantonio.com
(WTLV/NBC News) The Georgia Bureau of Investigations is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a 2-year-old girl found dead in Waycross over the weekend.
The Brantley County Sheriff's Office confirmed with First Coast News that the child died in a clothes dryer.
Sources say the girl's mother found the toddler in the dryer Sunday morning, and believes the child climbed inside while she was sleeping.
A preliminary autopsy revealed the girl died from overheating.
From news.com.au
Tiffany Hebb, from Utah, recently detailed the horrific events that led up to the death of her two-year-old son Ollie.
In a harrowing article about the day of the accident, Tiffany recalled how Ollie was helping her throw a few things into the washing machine as he often did.
After finishing putting the sheets in they both left the laundry together and Tiffany, who was pregnant at the time, stopped for a moment to read an article about pregnancy.
She was only a few seconds into reading the first paragraph when she noticed she couldn’t hear Ollie making any noises and was nowhere to be seen.
Ollie’s mum Tiffany recently opened up about his tragic death as a warning to others. Picture: Tiffhebb/Instagram
Ollie’s mum Tiffany recently opened up about his tragic death as a warning to others. Picture: Tiffhebb/Instagram
Panic set in as she started running through the house searching for him and calling his name.
She had checked the whole house and made sure all the doors and windows were locked. It slowly started to dawn on her there was only one place left he could be.
“I ran back into the laundry room. This was the only place he could be, the lid was now open and the washer had since stopped,” Tiffany wrote on Love What Matters.
“Something told me to put my hands in the washing machine.”
She described the horrific moment of feeling his “precious body inside the cold water” as she reached her hands into the machine.
“Words do not even describe the horror, fear and helplessness I felt as I tried to pull my sweet Ollie’s lifeless body out of the washing machine,” she said.
She attempted to pull him out but she quickly realised he was stuck and she wouldn’t be able to get him out on her own.
The harrowing article details what happened to little Ollie and was shared on the anniversary of his death. Picture: Tiffhebb/Instagram
She propped his head above the water and ran out into the street screaming at her neighbours for help.
One neighbour rushed back with her and pulled Ollie from the machine. At this point other neighbours has come into the house and immediately started the perform CPR on the child.
The ambulance arrived soon after and raced him to the hospital where he was placed on life support.
After showing little improvement over 24 and no brain activity, Tiffany and her husband had to make the heartbreaking decision to turn off his life support.
“Ollie’s body began to get heavier and heavier as the breath slowed and took fewer and fewer breaths,” she said.
“He took his last breath in my arms and I remember letting out a sigh of relief but then my heart shattered so deeply.”
From nypost.com
HOUSTON — Police say a 10-year-old Houston boy died after he climbed into a tumble dryer during a game of hide-and-seek.
The Harris County medical examiner’s office said Monday that the boy was electrocuted. Investigators initially thought he may have suffocated when he climbed into the machine in the laundry room of an apartment complex Friday.
Christina Rodriguez identified the child to KTRK-TV as her son, third-grader Fernando Hernandez Jr.
Police Detective Michael Arrington told the Houston Chronicle that other children who were playing with Fernando found him unresponsive in the dryer.
The Chronicle notes that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a bulletin in December about several suffocation deaths involving children who crawled inside latch-type dryers. Dryer deaths involving electrocution appear to be rare.
From independent.co.uk
A toddler has died after being found inside the washing machine at her family home, according to reports.
Authorities in Paris announced on Friday they were opening an investigation into the three-year-old girl’s death.
The prosecutor’s office said she was discovered at a property in northeast Paris on Thursday night, but refused to provide more details or confirm a report in Le Parisien that she was found alive inside the washing machine.
The newspaper claimed she was found inside the household appliance by her father and another family member at their home in Paris’ 20th arrondissement. She died in emergency care an hour later.
The washing machine had not been switched on but its doors shut automatically, the report said. The girl’s father, aged 48, said the door of the appliance was closed and that the appliance did not turn on of its own accord.
Le Parisien wrote the girl’s parents had just finished dinner when they started to worry about the whereabouts of the toddler. It is alleged they searched their own apartment and sought help from neighbours.
The family are said to have found the girl at around 10.30pm in a critical condition. She was pronounced dead at 11.30pm.
A source close to the investigation told the newspaper that initial reports marked her death as being triggered by “choking”, but urged caution over drawing conclusions during the early stages of the probe.
There was no trace of violence and an autopsy will be performed on the girl’s body.
From nzherald.co.nz
A Coroner has ruled that the death of a Christchurch toddler who climbed into the family washing machine was a tragic accident - and the first of its kind in New Zealand.
The little girl died at a Hoon Hay property on February 20 last year.
Emergency services were called to the house just before 5pm after the child had been found in the washing machine which had been turned on.
She was revived and rushed to hospital but had sustained catastrophic injuries and died, surrounded by her family, the next day.
The death was investigated and referred to Coroner Alexander Ho, who made a ruling on the death last month.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I record that there was no evidence of any involvement of any adult or any other person in (the girl’s) death,” he said.
“There were no suspicious circumstances or evidence of criminal wrongdoing.”
Coroner Ho released his findings to the Herald - however much of the information is suppressed to protect the girl’s family, particularly her siblings.
The family did not want to speak publicly about her death or the findings.
Coroner Ho described the child as a “happy-go-lucky” little girl who lived with her parents and older siblings and loved them dearly.
“She kept to herself and enjoyed playing with her toys… liked to climb and jump on the trampoline… she attended kindergarten,” he said.
“The family’s neighbour described the family as happy and polite.”
The Coroner heard that the family replaced their top-loading washing machine in 2020, installing a front loader.
When the top loader was operating the door to the laundry was usually closed to prevent the children from pushing buttons and pausing the cycle.
Otherwise the door was left open.
Coroner Ho said the new washing machine would only operate with the door shut and the door would lock closed during a cycle.
On the day of the tragedy, the little girl went out for lunch with her parents and grandmother.
They went shopping and then the mother took her on the school run to pick up her siblings.
Back at the house everything was normal - several of the siblings played video games and another played in their bedroom.
At about 4pm another adult and child arrived at the house.
“The children went out to greet them,” said Coroner Ho.
“They then returned to the lounge, ostensibly to continue playing PlayStation. The adults went into the kitchen and had coffee.”
At one point the little girl went into the kitchen but her father sent her away as the adults were having a cigarette and he did not want her around the smoke.
The little girl ran down the hallway crying and an older sibling went and comforted her and took her to the lounge.
“(The child) left the lounge and went out to the front gate where she waved at a passerby… (her) sister then saw her run to the back of the house,” said Coroner Ho.
“Soon after, (she) played a trick on her sister by knocking at the back door and running away before it was opened.
“The sister found (her) on the trampoline and briefly played with her before returning to the lounge.”
At about 4.45pm the adults were preparing to leave the house but could not find the little girl.
“They called her name. When they did this (she) usually answered and they could quickly find her. However, on this occasion (she) did not respond,” said Coroner Ho.
“(Her parents) searched around the house, outside the gate and in the car.
“When (the mother) checked the (laundry) she noticed that a light on the washing machine was flashing. She thought this was odd as she had not done any washing.
“The washing machine was about half full of still and murky water.
“(The mother) saw something inside the water and, upon looking closer, realised it was (the little girl).”
Emergency services were called but the child could not be saved. Police later found no evidence anyone was to blame for her death.
The woman screamed out for the girl’s father as she tried to pry the washing machine door open.
The father ran to her and forced it open, pulling the child out.
“She was floppy and her face was purple,” said Coroner Ho.
“(Her father) placed (her) on the ground outside and commenced CPR.”
Someone called 111 and paramedics and firefighters converged on the property and took over resuscitation efforts.
The child was unresponsive and had a contusion to the side of her head.
She was rushed to Christchurch Hospital and emergency department specialists managed to revive and stabilize her.
Coroner Ho said the new washing machine would only operate with the door shut and the door would lock closed during a cycle.
On the day of the tragedy, the little girl went out for lunch with her parents and grandmother.
“Staff continued to try to stabilize and optimize (her) breathing and circulation,” said Coroner Ho.
“The CT scan showed significant brain injury… Doctors met with (her family) and explained that she had sustained a severe brain injury.
“They advised the most likely outcome was that she would not survive.”
The child’s condition deteriorated overnight and she died the next day, surrounded by her family.
A post-mortem examination was carried out by forensic pathologist Dr Martin Sage.
He ruled the child’s cause of death was a severe brain injury, secondary to “enclosed space asphyxia”.
Much of the detail of Coroner Ho’s findings cannot be published as it would breach permanent suppression orders put in place to protect the young victim’s family.
However, he allowed the Herald to publish the outcome, saying it was in the public interest.
“There was no evidence to suggest that (the child) was deliberately placed into the machine by another person,” said Coroner Ho.
“Police conducted an investigation and were satisfied there were no suspicious circumstances.
“The evidence was that they were a happy family and there had never been any substantive concerns reported about the family or the children’s welfare.”
The toddler was home with her parents and siblings when the accident happened. The Coroner said there was no evidence anyone was to blame for her death.
Coroner Ho said no one at the house saw exactly what happened - but based on the police findings he could make final conclusions.
The police findings included an in-depth report from Mark Jermy - a Canterbury University professor in mechanical engineering - about how the washing machine operated.
“I find that (the girl) voluntarily climbed into the washing machine. Professor Jermy’s report demonstrates she was able to do so and there is no evidence to support any other theory,” said Coroner Ho.
“How did the wash cycle start? The door latches, in that it is held shut by the spring-loaded latch, when it is fully closed.
“The door can still be opened from the inside when it is latched but not locked. The door will lock if it is both latched and the machine is attempting to start a wash cycle.
“Therefore, if (the girl) had crawled inside the drum and closed the door, she would have been able to push open the door and crawl out – provided a cycle had not been initiated.”
Coroner Ho said a wash cycle could be initiated in one of two sequences.
“It could be started in the more common way of closing the door, powering on the machine and then pressing the start button.
“Alternatively, with this model of machine, it was also possible to press the start button first and then close the door. The cycle would then automatically start provided that the door was closed within 12 seconds of the start button being pressed.
“There is no evidence of anyone else starting the washing machine.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, I record that there was no evidence of any involvement of any adult or any other person in (the girl’s) death.”
Coroner Ho said around the world, deaths of children who trap themselves in washing machines were rare.
The girl’s was the first case of its type in New Zealand.
Coroner Ho also explained why he had suppressed the child’s name and other information.
“Publication of the details around (the child’s) death is sufficient to satisfy the public interest in knowing what occurred and the safety recommendations I have made,” he said.
“It is not necessary to also publish (her) name.
“There are good reasons here for non-publication and which align with the general principles of protecting vulnerable people as envisaged by those statutes.
“It is enough to publish that the death was due to (the child) playing in and around the washing machine and not due to criminal wrongdoing or the actions of any adult; and the associated safety warnings about the dangers of children playing with washing machines.”