BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) – A lawn mower accident that severely injured a 17-year-old girl’s foot when she was a child left her with a life of difficulties.
Celine York was just 5 years old when she was playing in the yard, hiding behind a tree to surprise her mom, who was mowing the lawn.
When her mom rode the mower around the tree, York fell to the ground and her foot got caught in the blades.
“Half of my foot was cut off,” she said, adding that a small amount of skin was holding it together. “I lost three toes in the process and I actually almost lost my life.”
York spent her 6th birthday in the ICU. Now at 17 years old, she says her injury created several obstacles.
“Whenever I would get undressed in the locker room before gym and I would have to change my shoes in the locker room, they would make fun of me because I had two toes.”
Stephanie Weigel, Injury Prevention Coordinator at Akron Children’s Hospital, says York’s accident is not rare.
“A lot of our local families think taking the lawn mower around the yard for a ride is fun with little ones and it’s actually extremely dangerous. We see a lot of injuries where the children fall off and even if the blades aren’t on, they can be ran over.”
June is the beginning of what emergency rooms across the nation call Trauma Season. Weigel says lawn mower accidents are one of the most common that Akron Children’s sees from the Youngstown area during that time.
“Mowers can actually throw things yards and yards outside of the field of mowing, so your little one can be on the other side of the yard playing and a projectile can be propelled from the mower and injure them.”
She says the best way to keep kids safe is for them to stay inside while the grass is being cut.