An 8 year-old child was seriously injured by a riding lawnmower Sunday afternoon in Johnston County.
Paramedics rushed to the scene of the 3:35pm accident in the 7000 block of Highway 42 West.
WTSB News has learned a young girl was running alongside a relative operating a riding lawnmower and cutting grass at the home. The child reportedly tripped and fell causing her foot to go underneath the mowing deck. The mower blades severely mangled the young girl’s foot. She was rushed to Wake Medical Center in Raleigh for treatment of serious injuries to her foot.
The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the mishap.
An estimated 20,000 lawn mower accidents occur each year in the US with 1 in 5 involving children. Approximately 75 children are killing in mower accidents and 600 receive an amputation as a result of their injuries. For children under 10, the leading cause of limb loss is mower accidents.
According to safety experts, keep your children indoors and do not allow them to play nearby while you are mowing. Never allow children to play on a lawn mower and never allow a child to ride on a riding lawnmower with you. And never mow in reverse.
