Unintentional drownings top cause of accidental deaths for young kids: IDPH

Unintentional drownings are the No. 1 cause of accidental deaths for children ages 1 to 4 years old in the U.S. and No. 2 for children of all ages, the Illinois Department of Public Health reports.

The DeKalb County Coroner has not yet released a cause of death for the 10-year-old girl pulled Sunday night from a DeKalb pond, but accidental drownings are not an uncommon occurrence statewide.

[ Read more: Body found in DeKalb pond after hourslong water rescue effort ]

An estimated 101 people, including 14 children under the age of 18, died from accidental drowning last year, according to provisional Illinois Department of Public Health data.

That’s down from 118 in 2023, including 23 children under 18 and 10 under 5, and 115 in 2022, including 20 children under 18 and 12 under 5.

The Illinois Department of Public Health was not able to provide a number on how many drownings have occurred so far this year.

But among them are an unknown Hispanic man found in June in the Kankakee River, a 77-year-old woman drowned in an above-ground pool June 21 near Harvard, a 5-year-old Plainfield boy died July 4 after he drowned in a Buffalo Grove pool, and an 82-year-old man found in April at Rock Run Rookery in Joliet.

Two drownings also occurred this summer at Illinois Beach State Park in Lake County, including of a 14-year-old boy from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and earlier in the summer, a 20-year-old Waukegan man, according to multiple reports.

Just across the border, a Joliet father drowned earlier this month after attempting to rescue his son who was struggling in the waters of Lake Michigan in Indiana.

The Illinois Department of Public Health recommends that children have swimming lessons and are closely supervised at all times, swimming pools are fully enclosed by fencing and have a self-closing and self-latching gates, and life jackets be worn while boating for people of all ages.