2-Year-Old Hospitalized After Going Under Grandfather’s Lawnmower in Indiana

A stock photo of an ambulance. OgnjenO/shutterstock

A 2-year-old boy was hospitalized with serious injuries after he went under a lawnmower as he played chase with his grandparents.

According to authorities in Jennings County, Beverly Waltermire was chasing her grandson through the yard around midday on July 13, while his grandfather, William E. Waltermire, mowed the lawn in the yard of their house in rural Indiana.

“The 2-year-old ran towards his grandfather as the grandmother gave chase after him,” said the sheriff’s office in a statement. “As the grandfather was backing the 2-year-old fell and went under the mower while it was mowing.”

They grandparents arrived at the sheriff’s office requesting an ambulance, said the sheriff’s office.

“The grandparents met with Rescue 20 and the grandson was transported to St. Vincent Jennings Hospital,” said the statement. “He was shortly flown from the hospital to Riley Hospital for serious injuries.”

The sheriff’s office say that they are still investigating the incident, but have so far indicated that they believe it to be a “terrible accident.”

Jennings County, Indiana. Screenshot/Google Maps

No further details, such as the type of mower, have been provided.

“We would like to thank Rescue 20 and St. Vincent-Jennings Hospital staff as well as officers from the North Vernon Police Department for their efforts,” said the sheriff’s office. “Our thoughts are with the family at this time.”

“According to statements given by them, they stated that William was mowing the yard at 3675 E CR 150 S (Grayford Road),” the sheriff’s office said.

Over 1,000 people responded to the sheriff office’s post with horror, compassion, and prayers.

“I just read this and I cannot imagine what the family, especially the grandparents, are going through,” wrote one person in a typical message. “My heart goes out to everyone involved with the care and love for this child. Your family is in our thoughts and prayers. ”

In this file image a worker rides a lawnmower at the Olympic complex in Athens. Jacques Demarthon/AFP/Getty Images

Lawnmower accidents are the leading cause of loss of limbs among young children, and an average of around 70 deaths is caused annually due to lawnmower incidents.

“Lawn mowing can unexpectedly become a dangerous activity, especially when children are near,” American Society of Plastic Surgeons president Jeffrey Janis, MD told Alabama.com. “It’s imperative that operators take proper precautions and eliminate all risks to reduce these traumatic injuries.”

One campaign group, Limbs Matter, has a simple message for the public: “Keep your kids inside when mowing the lawn.”

“Everyday in the United States, a child will lose a limb to a lawnmower accident,” says the group’s safety message on their website.

This file image shows an ambulance in Jacksonville Beach, Fla. Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP

The danger from lawnmowers isn’t just from slipping under the blades. The machines can also cause burns, throw out lethal projectiles, and also crush people in rollovers.

In May, a former military officer in charge of an elite special mission unit of the United States Army died at the age of 72 after his lawnmower rolled over an embankment behind his home in Eufaula, 175 miles southeast of Birmingham.