Wisconsin toddler dies after getting tangled in window blinds cord

A Wisconsin toddler died last week when they became entangled in the pull cord attached to window blinds.

The 2-year-old child, who has not been named publicly, was found unresponsive at a home on the 600 block of South Irwin Avenue in Green Bay around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, the Green Bay Police Department said.

The tot was discovered entangled in the pull cord of bedroom blinds, police said.

Earlier this week, the Brown County Office of the Medical Examiner attributed the death to accidental asphyxiation.

An average of nine children under the age of five are strangled by window covering cords each year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

There were over 200 strangulation incidents involving window cords and children age eight and younger from 2009 through 2021, 48 percent of which were fatal.

Children who do survive these accidents are often at risk for lifelong injuries, including brain damage and quadriplegia.