Toddler Run Over By Riding Lawn Mower Driven By Great-Grandma

A 2-year-old girl was run over by a riding lawnmower driven by her great-grandmother Tuesday afternoon, police said.

The 64-year-old great-grandmother backed over the child while cutting the grass at their Plum Street residence outside Joliet.

The girl was playing with sticks by a garage some distance from where her great-grandmother was cutting the grass shortly after 2 p.m., said Deputy Chief Tom Budde of the Will County Sheriff’s Department.

The great-grandmother reversed the mower, felt it bump into something and heard screams.

The screams woke the child’s mother, who was sleeping inside the house and did not know her daughter was playing outside, police said.

The mother and great-grandmother were unable to pull the child out from under the lawnmower and called 911. Plainfield firefighters arrived and lifted the mower off of her.

Deputies called to the scene cleared an area for a helicopter to land and fly the girl off to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. The child was conscious and breathing when she was taken away, Budde said.

The girl suffered a large laceration to her upper thigh, police said.

No criminal charges were filed in connection with the incident.

“It appears it was just a tragic accident,” Budde said.