2-year-old loses feet when dad runs over her with lawnmower

WFLA

A 2-year-old girl lost both of her legs in an accident involving a lawn mower on Wednesday evening in Palm Harbor, Fla.

By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

A 2-year-old Florida girl's feet were severed when her father accidentally ran over her with a riding lawn mower in a tragic mixup, officials said.

The toddler, identified by police as Ireland Nugent, was running in her Palm Harbor yard on Wednesday evening as her mother, Nicole, yelled after her to stop, NBC affiliate WFLA reported.

Her father, Jeremiah, was cutting the grass and thought his wife was waving at him to warn him that something was in front of the riding mower.

So he put the mower into reverse and backed up over Ireland, who was behind him and out of sight, authorities said. The mower kept rolling back even after the dad cut the engine, they said.

The machine's blades cut off her feet at the ankle and also injured her hand, rescue officials said.

The girl was taken by helicopter to Tampa General Hospital, where officials said they could not release any information about her condition.

The girl's parents were treated for hysteria.

For more on this story, go to WFLA.com

The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons said a quarter of a million people are treated for lawn mower injuries a year; less than 10 percent of them are children.

"The energy transferred by a typical lawn mower blade is equivalent to being shot in the hand with a .357 Magnum pistol," the society said on its website.

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This story was originally published on Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:49 AM EDT

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