A 7-year-old girl was injured this morning in a snowblower accident outside her foothills home.
The girl, who was not identified, was with her mother, who was clearing their driveway, when she slipped and fell in front of the snowblower, said Don Schoenbein, Fire Chief with the Indian Hills Fire Department.
Her mother was able to quickly stop, and shut down, the snowblower before any serious injury.
The girl was injured in the fall when she was hit by the “edge” of the machine, Schoenbein said.
She suffered two cuts, one on her leg and one on her head, was treated at the scene and taken to Swedish Medical Center, Schoenbein said.
The accident happened at about 11:35 a.m. in the 5500 block of U.S. Highway 285 in Jefferson County.
The girl was hit by something — likely snow or ice — discharged by the blower, and she fell in its path.
Firefighters carried the girl, who weighed about 40 pounds, about a 1/4 of a mile down the long driveway to a waiting ambulance.
Snow in the area was about 24 inches deep, Schoenbein said.
“She was up and talking,” Schoenbein said of the 7-year-old. “She’s a very brave, very tough, little girl. She did very well.”
Schoenbein said people using snowblowers should take great precautions and children should be kept at a very safe distances from the machines.
“The unexpected can happen, as it did here.” he said.
Schoenbein added: “She won’t go near a snowblower for a while, and her mother probably won’t let her.”
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
