NATION IN BRIEF : NATIONWIDE : Injuries the Biggest Killer of U.S. Youth
Injuries are the primary killer of young people in this country, causing more than 20,000 deaths a year--including nearly 3,000 homicides. Statistics from the Atlanta-based federal Centers for Disease Control indicated that 2,877 Americans under age 20 died from homicide in 1986, the latest year for which statistics are available. Motor vehicle crashes killed 10,535 people under 20 in 1986. Suicide was the third leading cause of childhood fatal injuries, accounting for 2,151 deaths. Drowning, the fourth leading cause of childhood fatal injuries, killed 2,062; it was the most common cause of injury-related death among children under 5 and among young men 15 to 19. Overall, injuries accounted for 31% of the 71,383 deaths of Americans under 20 in 1986.
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