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Two teenage girls were injured, including one fatally, in separate sledding crashes on the same Ohio hill, the two families said on Saturday.
Natalie Wilson, 17, has been hospitalized since Sunday night after crashing at the Hinckley Reservation in Medina County, her father, Jim Wilson, said. She was left partially paralyzed after sustaining a fractured T5 and T6 vertebrae, severely damaging her spinal cord and breaking six ribs.
Wilson said in a phone interview that her daughter and a friend “were on one last trip down the hill before heading home” when their sled swerved out of its way toward a treeline.
He said his family had visited the park “many times” and that this was the second time his daughter had been there this year.
“That’s pretty much where we go when we want to sled,” he says.
According to Wilson, the slope can get icy at times, causing the sleds to roll very fast. He said that was what happened on the day of his daughter’s accident.
“They were both on the sled,” he says. “So what happened was they sped out of control down the hill. Her friend was kicked out … and my daughter most likely hit a tree.”
Wilson said he got a call from his daughter just before 9:30 p.m. telling her she was injured.
She was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, according to a GoFundMe page created to help cover medical bills. The account raised over $ 16,000.
Jim Wilson said his daughter would most likely remain hospitalized for at least the next few weeks, but that she was making slow progress.
“Natalie felt a tingling in her legs and the doctor felt a slight movement of her toes!” he wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “Praised be Almighty God. I’m going to have a ‘tingling’ right now !!! I needed this now like you wouldn’t believe.”
The day before Natalie’s crash, 14-year-old Eirelyn Zuercher was involved in an accident on the same hill. She was placed on life support on February 20 after suffering “a damaging brain injury,” her mother said in a Facebook post.
“Eirelyn is currently on life support to sustain life long enough to find organ donor recipients. I’m told it could take up to three days,” wrote Katie Dougherty Zuercher. “It is emotional and exhausting to wait for the inevitable end, but I hope that a few terrible days for my family will mean a better future for other families who will benefit from their healthy organs.”
Eirelyn was taken out of life support Wednesday night and died of her injuries. Her mother said she was able to donate organs to five people.
To add to the family tragedy, Eirelyn’s father suffered a serious heart attack on the day of his hospitalization, from which he has not recovered.
“Her daddy arrived in Heaven just before her, just like he came to the finish line first in every Mario Kart game they’ve played together. bigger hug before he can even walk into the house. I imagine he now awaits it with the same impatience, ”wrote Dougherty Zuercher.
Dougherty Zuercher could not be reached immediately on Saturday.
Wilson said he first shared his story to provide updates on his daughter to family and friends and never expected the outpouring of support for strangers.
He now hopes that Hinckley Reservation will make updates to his hill and put up barriers that prevent the sleds from deviating from the sides.
Cleveland Metroparks, which manages the reservation, and the Hinckley Township Police Department could not be reached on Saturday.
Park officials told the Akron Beacon Journal in a statement, “Our hearts are with the families affected by the sleigh incidents over the weekend. We are examining the incidents and circumstances surrounding these tragic events.”
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