7-Year-Old Boy Seriously Injured After Falling From Blue Hills Ski Lift
CANTON (CBS) – A seven-year-old boy from Rockland was seriously injured after he fell from a ski lift at Blue Hills in Canton Monday afternoon. The Canton Fire Department said the boy fell approximately 35 feet.
Ski patrol extricated the boy from where he fell and provided medical care before Canton Fire paramedics took over.
"He was conscious and able to speak," Canton Fire Chief Charles Doody said. "They described his injuries as serious by not life threatening."
The boy was taken by helicopter to Boston Children's Hospital.
Skier Billy McCarthy was on the lift just before 4:30 when it abruptly shutdown and others began pointing at the small boy on the ground underneath them. McCarthy realized it was the same boy he had seen earlier going down the slopes.
"We saw him and his brother skiing past us earlier, they were pretty good skiers honestly and I was surprised that it was him," McCarthy said.
Rescuers said they frequently answer ski-related injury calls there and that experience makes for a speedy transfer off the hill from ski patrol to ambulance.
"Ambulance got there within five minutes, it was quick so I think they did a good job," McCarthy said.
As far as how the boy fell from the lift, rescuers say they doubt it was a mechanical problem but have no answer beyond that. "I don't know who was on the lift with the child and I don't know if the lift bar was down," Doody said.
The child was with family at the ski area at the time. A State Police detective responded to the hospital and is investigating the incident.