Girl, 4, killed by falling TV

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Posted to the web: 02/03/2009 10:26:21
A ZIMBABWEAN girl of four was crushed to death when a TV fell on her as she played at her home in Surrey, England.

Shamiso Seke had been trying to change channels when the 32-inch set fell from its cabinet.

She suffered a fractured skull and died an hour later in hospital.
Shamiso was with her two younger sisters on September 2 last year when the accident happened, the Woking Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday.

She was rushed to Frimley Park Hospital where medics tried to revive her, but she was pronounced dead a short time after arriving.

Doctors believe the child died almost instantly from a fractured skull.

An inquest at Woking heard last week the 52kg TV had been too heavy and large for its cabinet.

Det Insp Karen Hughes said: “It was inevitable it would topple some time.”

Her mother, Lucy, turned the television on at the wall and Shamiso pulled open the doors of the cabinet housing a digital set-top box to change the channel manually.

“Mrs Seke heard a loud crash and turned around to see that the television had fallen onto Shamiso’s head,” Detective Inspector Hughes told the court. “She screamed for her husband to call an ambulance.

“There was blood coming out of Shamiso’s mouth, nose, ears and eyes.”
By the time the child arrived at hospital, she was in cardiac arrest. She was pronounced dead at 7.12pm, less than an hour after the incident.

Det Insp Hughes told coroner Michael Burgess: “According to our measurements, the television base was overhanging the cabinet by 35cm. The cabinet was too small.”

After the incident, Surrey Police took the television and cabinet to Guildford police station for tests.

Det Insp Hughes said the doors housing the set-top box at the bottom of the cabinet were stiff. “It was a clasp with a metal ball,” she added. “An element of force was needed to open the doors.

“This caused the television and cabinet to rock backwards and forwards. The weight of the television was all at the front, which meant it was quite unstable.”

The officer said the specific kind of television, which is rarely sold now, came with its own special stand which the TV could be screwed into.

She added: “It was inevitable that the television was going to topple at some point. It [the cabinet] was totally insufficient to carry the weight of that television.”

Closing the inquest, Burgess recorded a verdict of accidental death. “I have taken my inquiry as far as I can,” he told Mr and Mrs Seke.

“I conclude that the death was a very tragic accident. My most sincere and heartfelt condolences to you and your daughters.”
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