Lake County sheriff’s police are investigating the death of an 18-month-old boy who died over the weekend from head injuries his parents said were caused when he fell off a couch.
Joseph Clanton, who lived in an unincorporated area near Gurnee, was pronounced dead at 9:49 a.m. Sunday in Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, authorities said.
An autopsy of the child’s body Monday was inconclusive, and further tests will be conducted to determine a cause of death, said Lake County Sheriff’s Police Lt. Chester Iwan.
The boy’s parents told police that Joseph climbed onto a sofa to wave goodbye to his mother Friday at about 1 p.m., Iwan said. The boy’s mother was going to pick up some food at a nearby fast-food restaurant, and Joseph was left with his father, Iwan said.
Joseph reportedly fell off the sofa, hit his head on a coffee table and then fell to the floor, Iwan said. The boy’s parents took the child to St. Therese Medical Center, Waukegan, and he was later flown by helicopter to the Wisconsin hospital.