N.J. Officials Stress Importance Of Crib Safety After 3 Babies Die In 40 Hours
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – Three babies died last week in New Jersey within a span of 40 hours.
As 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck reports, their deaths are considered tragic accidents – they had all been sleeping in beds with parents or family members.
"We're not here ascribing blame to any of these parents. They've suffered enough. These were truly tragedies that they all had to endure," Essex County Acting Prosecutor Robert Laurino said. "But what we're hoping is that these tragedies, and the magnitude of these, and the number that we've seen can hopefully be used to educate others as to the dangers that we have here."
"The takeaway basically is back to sleep in their own bed or crib and alone. A tight fitting sheet, no blankets, bumpers, stuffed animals, other siblings in the crib," said Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Kathleen Lyons, who's also a registered nurse.
A 26-day-old baby was killed in Belleville, along with a 1-month-old girl in Newark and an 11-day-old boy in East Orange.
Laurino had a hard time discussing the death of the baby in Belleville.
"This was a particularly cruel event. The parents of this child had tried to have a child for several years. This was their first and only child," he said. "The mother, as you can imagine, was totally devastated. She told the Division of Child Protection and Permanency worker that her only wish was that she could have fed the child just one last time."