Two teenage girls were injured, one fatally in separate sled accidents on the same hill in Ohio, both families said Saturday.
Natalie Wilson, 17, has been hospitalized since Sunday night after crashing at Hinckley Reservation in Medina County, her father, Jim Wilson, said. She was partially left paralyzed after having a break in her spines of T5 and T6, which severely damaged her spinal cord and broke six ribs.
Wilson said in a telephone interview that his daughter and a friend “undertook one last ride down the hill before going home” when their sleigh moved off course to a tree line.
He said his family visited the park many times, and it was his daughter’s second time there this year.
“It’s about where we’re going if we want to drive,” he said.
According to Wilson, the hill can sometimes get icy, and the sledding goes fast. He said it happened the day of his daughter’s accident.
“They were both on the sledge,” he said. ‘What basically happened was that they spun out of control to the bottom of the hill. Her friend was pushed out … and my daughter probably hit a tree. ‘
Wilson said he called his daughter just before 9:30 p.m., saying she was injured.
According to a GoFundMe page set up to help medical expenses, she was brought to the MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. The account raised more than $ 16,000.
Jim Wilson said his daughter is likely to stay in the hospital for the next few weeks, but that she is progressing slowly.
“Natalie feels tingling in her legs and the doctor feels a slight counter-movement!” he wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “Praise the Almighty God. I will ‘tingle’ now! I needed it now as you would not believe.”
The day before Natalie’s accident, Eirelyn Zuercher (14) was in the same car in an accident. She was placed on life support on February 20 after suffering an adverse brain injury, her mother said in a Facebook post.
“Eirelyn is currently life supportive to maintain life long enough to find organ donors. I am told it can take up to three days,” Katie Dougherty Zuercher wrote. “Waiting for the inevitable end is emotional and exhausting, but my hope is that some terrible days will mean a better future for my family for other families who will benefit from her healthy organs.”
Eirelyn was taken off livelihood on Wednesday night and died from her injuries. Her mother said she could donate organs to five people.
Contributing to the family’s tragedy, Eirelyn’s father had a massive heart attack the day she was admitted to the hospital, after which he did not recover.
“Her dad came to heaven just before her, just as he came first in the finish line in every Mario Kart game they’ve ever played together. “the biggest hug before he could even get into the house. I imagine he’s now waiting for her with the same eager anticipation,” Dougherty Zuercher wrote.
Dougherty Zuercher could not be reached immediately on Saturday.
Wilson said he initially shared his story to give family and friends of his daughter updates and that he never expected the outpouring of support for strangers.
He now hopes Hinckley Reservation will update its hill and erect barriers that prevent sledding from moving from the sides.
Cleveland Metroparks, which operates the reservation, and the Hinckley Township Police Department could not be reached Saturday.
Park officials told the Akron Beacon Journal in a statement: “We are thinking of the families affected by the sleigh incidents that took place over the weekend. We are investigating the incidents and the circumstances surrounding these tragic events.”
