Police said Monday that Shaine Burton was in front of the family's entertainment center on Thursday when the 27-inch TV fell on him in a trailer home in Camelot Trailer Court, at 655 N. Highway 89.
At the time of the accident, the infant's parents and another child were in the room watching an episode of "Seinfeld," said Sgt. Mitch Gwilliam, a North Salt Lake police spokesman.
The infant was taken by ambulance to a local hospital and then flown by helicopter to Primary Children's Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Gwilliam said.
Officers are unsure what caused the TV to fall but concluded it was accidental, he said.
The accident was not isolated, however. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, at least 3,000 children under the age of 5 were treated for injuries from TV and furniture tip-overs in 2005.
The commission reports that between 2000 and 2005, 36 deaths were recorded as a result of TV tip-overs and 65 furniture tip-overs. In each case, 80 percent of the incidents involved children, according to the commission.
The state of Utah does not keep track of deaths or injuries caused by falling TVs. But according to Tribune archives, Shaine Burton is the third child to die from falling TVs since 2002:
* A 5-year-old girl was crushed when a 32-inch television fell on her in a Circuit City store in Orem in July 2002.
* A 2-year-old West Valley City girl was crushed to death in February 2005 by a TV that fell off of a chest of drawers she was climbing.
Falling TVs also have seriously injured Utah children. In May 2005, a 4-year-old Orem boy nearly died when a 32-inch TV on a chest of drawers fell and struck his head.
Six months later, a 2-year-old girl was critically injured when a 32-inch TV fell off of a stand tipped when the toddler stepped on an open drawer of the stand.
rrizzo@sltrib.com
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* NATHAN C. GONZALEZ and PAMELA MANSON contributed to this report.
Avoiding furniture tip-overs
* Place televisions on stable furniture surface of appropriate size.
* Make sure the furniture itself is secured from tipping.
* Avoid putting TVs on a chest of drawers, which could become levers to tip the chest over.
* Keep the TV as far from the front edge of the furniture as possible.
* Keep electrical cords out of a child's reach.
* Anchor the TV to the wall, if possible.
Source: U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission


