A 3-year-old boy who died when a dresser fell on him had been home alone with two infant siblings, according to Chicago police.
Emergency crews were called to the home in the 2800 block of South Pulaski Road in Little Village May 16 and found Johan Garcia underneath the dresser, police said. The toddler was pronounced dead at 2:03 p.m. at Stroger Hospital.
Johan’s mother was next door at a medical clinic with one of her other children and was monitoring him and his 7-month-old twin brothers on a baby monitor when she couldn’t see the boy and started calling for him, according to a police report.
When she came back to the home, she found Johan under a dresser in his room, the report said. She pulled him into a hallway and placed him on the carpet while a dispatcher guided her through CPR.
Johan’s father was at work at the time, police said. His mother was gone from the home for about 45 minutes, the report said.
An autopsy determined Johan suffered compressional asphyxia, and authorities ruled his death an accident. Detectives were conducting a death investigation.
According to the police report, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services took custody of the remaining children in the home. DCFS couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Monday.
An estimated average of 10,000 children nationwide are injured every year by tipped-over furniture, televisions or other appliances, according to a report released last year by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which found at least 472 kids were killed in such incidents from 2000 to 2020.
For information on how to secure furniture, visit anchorit.gov.
Contributing: Rosemary Sobol
