Child Dead After Striking Head In Indiana Home
GRIFFITH, Ind. (STMW) -- Police expect to file charges Thursday afternoon after a 20-month-old boy died after hitting his head in a northwest Indiana home.
The child was pronounced dead at 12:10 a.m. Thursday at the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
Griffith Police Chief Ron Kottka said the toddler, Derek Hanson, was injured Tuesday night and had been hospitalized ever since.
Police responded at 11:24 p.m. Tuesday to the 1000 block of East 35th Avenue in Griffith, Kottka said.
Sources said the boyfriend of the child's mother had been swinging the baby by its heels when the child's head hit a television set.
The Indiana Department of Child Services is working in partnership with law enforcement in the case, spokeswoman Ann Houseworth said.
Another male child in the home was taken into protective custody following the death, Houseworth said. The department has not had previous contact with the family.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
