Crime & Safety
TPD Gives Update On Child Seriously Injured During West Alabama Christmas Parade
Here's the latest after a nine-year-old boy was seriously injured after falling from a trailer and being run over during the parade.
TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa Police Department on Tuesday provided an update after a child fell from a trailer and was seriously injured during Monday night's West Alabama Christmas Parade in downtown Tuscaloosa.
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As Patch previously reported, the nine-year-old boy was with a group participating in the parade when the accident occurred at 7:40 p.m. at the intersection of University Boulevard and Greensboro Avenue.
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As multiple eyewitnesses pointed out, the child fell from the front of the trailer he was riding on, in front of the wheels, before being run over by the trailer. TPD officers, Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue and Northstar paramedics responded and the child was initially transported from the scene to DCH Regional Medical Center with injuries not believed to be life-threatening.
In an update on Tuesday, the Tuscaloosa Police Department said the child was transported to Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham Monday night with injuries that are considered serious, but not life-threatening.
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Despite parade organizers and city officials taking steps in the past and present to promote safety — tactics such as banning the throwing of candy around 2000 — incidents have still happened over the years during parades downtown.
Most recently, the Tuscaloosa News reported in 2014 that a 6-year-old girl was injured during the West Alabama Christmas Parade when she ran into the street at University Boulevard and Greensboro Avenue and was hit by a police officer on a bicycle who was unable to stop.
Before that, the Tuscaloosa News reported in 2006 when a 7-year-old girl was struck by an 18-wheeler pulling a float. Fortunately, the little girl survived but suffered broken thighs and other injuries resulting in a lengthy hospital stay at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham.
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