A young girl was flown to the hospital after suffering an apparent serious injury following a fall on the playground of an elementary school in Crystal Lake Wednesday afternoon.
The Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department responded around 3:35 p.m. Wednesday to Woods Creek Elementary School, 1100 Alexandra Boulevard in Crystal Lake, for a traumatic injury call.
Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department Battalion Chief Brian Tamason said that a juvenile suffered a traumatic injury after a fall.
Firefighters and paramedics requested a LifeNet medical helicopter to be placed on standby.
A short time later, they requested that the helicopter launch and respond to the helipad at Northwestern Medicine Hospital in Huntley.
An ambulance transported the child to the hospital’s helipad where they were transferred to the flight crew.
The helicopter flew the victim to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, which is a Level 1 trauma center.
Tamason did not release the extent of the victim’s injuries but said the child was stable at the time of transport.
Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department Deputy Chief Mark Menzel said the child was conscious and breathing.
She required air transport to a pediatric trauma center due to the injuries and her being a juvenile, Menzel said.
Woods Creek Elementary School Principal Amy Marks and Assistant Principal Jason Brogan sent a joint message to parents and said the victim was a student who was injured on the playground.
The child’s parent was present at the time and emergency services were called and responded immediately, the principals said.
“Our thoughts are with the family at this time,” Marks and Brogan said in the message.
Another parent who happened to be at the scene told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that the incident occurred shortly after dismissal. “Thankfully mom was there with her, and quickly called for help.”
The parent said she did not know the circumstances of what led to the fall but saw it was a young girl.
The school has not released further information on the incident or said how old the child was.