Tyson's Daughter

[genuinegirly]

Mike Tyson's daughter died this morning. She was on critical support after an accident with a treadmill.

Link to full article Tyson's daughter dies after accident, police say - CNN.com

Tyson's daughter dies after accident

(CNN) -- The 4-year-old daughter of boxing legend Mike Tyson died Tuesday, a day after she was injured in a treadmill accident at her home, police in Phoenix, Arizona, said.

Exodus Tyson was prounounced dead at 11:45 a.m. local time Tuesday, said Sgt. Andy Hill, a Phoenix police spokesman. He gave no other details.

The girl was found by her 7-year-old brother on a treadmill in the Phoenix home Monday "with her neck on ... a cable" attached to the machine, police said in an earlier statement.

The mother "took her daughter off the cable" and called authorities, and Exodus was taken to a hospital, according to police.

Former world heavyweight champion Tyson traveled from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Phoenix where his daughter was on life support in critical condition on Monday, police said.

I feel especially bad for her brother since he found her injured.

[ItWasMe]

Yikes! I have a treadmill and a 3 year old. Wish I could figure out what happened here. The only cable I know about is the one that plugs into the wall.

[shakran]

My folks had a treadmill that had the same arrangement on it when I was a little kid. The wire to the power switch and the speedometer came out of one side of the underside of the panel, and looped downward, going back up to enter the other side of the panel. I can see where it'd be a choking hazard to a kid that's climbing around on the treadmill.

A sucky situation all around, and a pretty obvious safety issue on treadmills that wouldn't seem very hard to correct.

[Jetée]

My condolescences to those affected family members.

I have troubling mustering a due response. The one thought that comes to mind is why was she on a treadmill (perhaps home gym facility) unsupervised? I know it gets hard to keep track of young, curious children, but such heavy machinery/equipment should be off-limits to the wee ones, perhaps best left lock-and-keyed in a training room.

[Xerxys]

I very much doubt this was anyone's 'fault' ... I honestly think this was freak accident that could happen in minutes because I still can't fathom for the life of me how the cable got on her neck.

[ItWasMe]

Here she is. DAYUM! How did I ever miss that one? I keep mine up in the locked position, and the treadmill turned around so that a)the power cord cannot reach the wall and b)if anyone accidentally unlocks it, the 'running belt' will simply lean against the wall and not fall onto a child's head.

I looked under the console that shakran mentioned. I just saw a short wire with a pretty red clip. When I pulled on that red clip like a child would, that wire came out in a big loop. Here's a picture of it part way out (photos 1 and 2) I flattened the loop and wrapped electrical wire around it so that it was no longer a loop. Then I taped it under the console.

Thank you GG and Shakran!

[snowy]

Accidents are the number one cause of death in children. This is why childproofing and supervision are important.

My heart goes out to the family.

[ametc]

Mike Tyson is crazy, but I feel for him.

Parents don't usually realize how many dangers they may have in their home.. so they may childproof some things but not others. Also, children can be clever and can get past childproofing. I know I always did when I was a kid.

Most parents already know common hazards... but something like this doesn't happen everyday. How can we prepare our kids for safety without keeping them locked in a bubble?

[genuinegirly]

ItWasMe- I'm glad you were able to further child-proof your treadmill. On a side note, I don't think I've ever seen a dirt bike with training wheels.

[The_Jazz]

Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon design flaw in treadmills. I wish I could say that I'd never heard of these kinds of accidents, but I just quoted Products Liability on a decent sized manufacturer/importer of sporting goods that has an indentical claim on a treadmill. The worst part is that with a minor design change and no real cost to the manufacturer, this would be preventable. I don't know if they just didn't foresee the possibility or thought it wasn't plausible, but I know several treadmill manufacturers that will probably be considering recalls in the near future.

[Wrexify]

I'm hoping this is just ignorance or misinformation, but I heard a police statement that claimed the girl had to "fashion a noose-like device" out of the cord. They said it was not easily accessible or dangerous, but that the 4-year-old had to open the console, remove the cord, and tie it into a loop herself. Seems pretty unbelievable to me.

[ratbastid]

This is really sad. The only upside is, I haven't yet seen anybody extrapolate from the dad's craziness and say anything unfortunate about the family or the girl.

[grayman]

Originally Posted by ratbastid

This is really sad. The only upside is, I haven't yet seen anybody extrapolate from the dad's craziness and say anything unfortunate about the family or the girl.

Not to be too negative, but I can't help but think the only reason Tyson hasn't been blamed is that he was in Las Vegas and nowhere near home at the time. Otherwise, he would almost certainly be getting blamed for a tragic accident that had nothing to do with who he is or what he's done in the past.

[wwtsd]

RIP little one.

[Glory's Sun]

as a father, I cannot fathom losing a child in any manner.

[The_Jazz]

Originally Posted by guccilvr

as a father, I cannot fathom losing a child in any manner.

Absolutely. I'm sure Mike couldn't either.

[dlish]

crazy father or not, she's still a kid, and its unfortunate that anything like this can happen.


i feel for poor Mike as i would anyone else.

RIP Exodus

[ShaniFaye]

As I've said elsewhere, I dont have much use for the man himself, but no one should have to go through this

[Anormalguy]

My heart goes out to Exodus' family.

While I wouldn't wish this on any celebrity, famous or infamous, perhaps the attention that this tragic accident is receiving will get parents to re-evaluate their child-proofing.

[Xerxys]

Wrexify, I now begin to think it sounds rather plausible after I see the pictures. It may not have been extracted by Exodus herself but if it was just left hanging there, I believe she may have placed it on her neck and got stuck.

Doesn't anybody wonder why, while we were kids, we were constantly monitored to not place plastic bags (pretty much anything) over our heads? Kids tend to do that.

[biznatch]

I remember the things I've done as a kid, many of them very unsafe. Running on my house's roof(one side of the house was flush with the cliff it was sitting on, meaning a 150ft drop), playing with knives, fire, etc whenever my parents weren't looking.

I can't even imagine what this guy must be going through. You can be a good parent and verify every danger to your child and try to eliminate it, but there's always a million risks that you just can't anticipate. I know he must be wondering if he could have done anything to prevent it, and is probably still blaming himself, or even worse, someone else he loves.