Though two adults were present in the house at the time of her death, police do not suspect foul play and believe it to be a ‘horrible accident’.
Adam Hadjis, the youngster’s father, said: ‘Most people are more concerned with what their children are watching than the TV itself.’
University Park Police Chief Mel Davis said the older box-style television accidentally toppled and fell on her head when she was playing by herself in the living room.
Her father Adam – who is not with Gianna’s mother – last saw his daughter more than a week ago and was in Minnesota when she died.
He told the Chicago Tribune this morning: ‘They told me her skull was severely crushed after the TV fell on her and she had a massive bruise on the bridge of her nose.
‘Most people are more concerned with what their children are watching than the TV itself.’
He was cooking breakfast at his home when the girl’s mother called him. He rushed to the hospital but she was already dead by the time he arrived.
He said: ‘I missed her by an hour. One minute she’s there full of life, the next minute she’s gone.’
Two adults were present in the house at the time of Gianna’s death but police do not suspect foul play and say they think it was a ‘horrible accident’.
The preliminary cause of death is head trauma but an autopsy is scheduled for today, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
OTHER TV DEATHS
Shaniya Singleton, three, was killed when the family’s 27-inch older model TV fell and crushed her head. She was said to be playing with her brother when she bumped into the TV stand causing it to topple over.
Karl Clermont, six, was crushed to death at his home by the family’s 165lb television. He is believed to have been trying to climb up it to reach the juice box on top of the TV when it came crashing down.
He said he does not blame Gianna’s mother or her boyfriend – who were present in the house when it happened – but said people should learn from what happened.
‘The most important thing is to warn other people with children that if they own a television that is unstable they can be putting their child at risk,’ he told the Chicago Tribune.
The couple have decided to donate their daughter’s heart to a child the same age as Gianna.
She is the third child who has been killed by a falling television in the Chicago area in the past three months.
Shaniya Singleton, three, was killed on November 8 when a TV fell on her at her home in the 7800 block of South Union in Chicago.
All of the accidents involved older, heavier TV sets.
Karl Clermont, six, died on October 30 when a TV fell on him in Arlington Heights.
Dr Karen Sheehan, medical director of the injury prevention and research center at Children’s Memorial Hospital, told CBS that parents need to secure unstable televisions and other furniture pieces.
‘You can buy straps to help secure the TV better or get a stand that’s made for a TV,’ she said. ‘But if you can’t find a stand for the TV, sometimes it might be safer on the floor.’
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