More Illinois Children Die From Firearms Than From Car Crashes
By Samantha Abernethy in News on Sep 4, 2012 10:00PM
In a disturbing new trend, the number of children in Illinois dying as a result of firearms has surpassed the number of those killed in car crashes. Chicago Magazine's Whet Moser took a close look at data from the Illinois Child Death Review Teams to find that the old cliche of "you're more likely to get killed in or by a car than by a gun" isn't true for Illinois children.
A decade ago, more children did in fact die in car crashes than by firearms. In 2009 and 2010, the most recent data the CDRT has reported, that wasn't the case, in part because the number of deaths from firearms increased substantially from 2005-2010 (the vast majority are homicides).
In the last decade, the number of children killed in car crashes has slowly decreased, while deaths from firearms has not. Firearms have surpassed car crashes since 2008. In 2002, 83 children died as a result of a vehicular accident, while 68 children died as a result of a firearm. In 2010, 84 children died as a result of firearm, while 75 died in car crashes.
Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of children killed by firearms are ages 15 to 17. See Moser's piece for the full breakdown.