A 3-year-old child was hospitalized on Tuesday after what Wadsworth Police called a freak accident caught on camera.
Around 6:40 p.m., police and EMS responded to Broad Street for a report of a child struck by a vehicle during the city's Blue Tip Parade.
Police said that during the parade, a modified ride-on mini-car left the roadway after the operator lost control while performing a stunt and collided with the toddler, who was watching from the tree lawn.
Wadsworth Police released surveillance footage of the incident, which showed a man popping a wheelie on an electric Power Wheels mini-car before hitting the pavement. The car then flipped before plowing into a crowd on the tree lawn.
The little boy was knocked unconscious with a bump on his head, according to police. The parade came to a stop for 45 minutes while police and emergency crews responded and tended to the boy.
He was transported to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police said he has a broken clavicle.
The rider walked away with scrapes on his ankle.
A police sergeant could be heard on body camera video interviewing the rider.
News 5 is not naming the man because he has not been charged.
"It simply happened with the throttle after it flipped, and I stood it back up, and it just took off,” the rider said.
The sergeant asked the man if he had anything to drink, and the man replied, "No."
He told the officer he came to the parade from work.
Police said the crash is still under investigation and will be sent to the prosecutor’s office for review on whether any charges are warranted.
"This young boy was with his family. They were off the road, on the tree lawn there, where they should have been,” said Wadsworth Police Lt. Seth Petit.
Petit said this is the first accident at the parade that he can remember in the last 15 years.
"It's just a terrible tragedy and something you never want to see, and something we worry about every year with any type of parade or thing like this, and so it's just a terrible situation,” Petit said.
Tom Morris is the parade organizer with the Blue Tip Parade committee. He said he hopes for a full recovery for the young man and added that there has been a lot of misinformation about the boy running out to look for candy, but he did nothing wrong.
Morris said these were reckless actions by participants that led to an unfortunate accident, and that they (the rider) did not do anything intentionally; it was beyond the scope of acceptable behavior in a parade.
Morris said in its current form, they will not be participating next year. What they were doing won’t be tolerated.
The toddler's family released the following statement regarding the crash:
"Our family is devastated after our 3-year-old family member was injured during the Wadsworth Blue Tip Parade. The child was on the sidewalk watching the parade with his mother when an ATV participating in the parade recklessly left the roadway and struck him on the sidewalk.
As a result of the crash, he sustained several broken bones and a head injury. He remains in the hospital for treatment.
As we focus on his recovery, we are confident that law enforcement will conduct a full and thorough investigation into the actions that led to this incident. We also hope appropriate steps are taken to prevent future incidents like this from occurring.
We appreciate the quick response and professionalism of the Wadsworth Police and Fire Departments, as well as the staff at Akron Children’s Hospital. We are also grateful for the prayers, support, and concern shown by the community during this difficult time."
