ATLANTA (AP) — Health officials say accidents are killing far fewer children and teenagers than in the past.
The death rate dropped about 30 percent from 2000 to 2009. One big reason was a decline in traffic fatalities, which annually account for half or more of kids’ deaths caused by accidents. Childhood deaths from drowning, fires and falls also plummeted.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the report Monday. The CDC did not examine causes for the decline.
Mississippi continued to have the worst numbers, with an accidental death rate in 2009 of 25 per 100,000 people ages 19 and younger. Massachusetts still had the lowest rate, at 4 per 100,000.
Accidental injuries are the leading cause of death for youths ages 1 to 19.
