VANCOUVER — A Calgary woman is reminding parents about the dangers of escalators after her toddler's foot became stuck in one and he broke his leg.
Andrea Diaczek was holding hands with her two-year-old son, Julian, as they rode down an escalator at the Vancouver International Airport on Friday.
"I heard a little squeak and I just saw the toe of his boot had become entrapped inside of the stair," she said. "And before I could even really do anything, I tried to yank him out and it just sort of sucked in his boot."
She screamed and someone stopped the escalator. Several people, including her husband, ran to help.
"His leg got twisted around backwards," Diaczek said.
"I’d already seen the toe of his boot go through the side and I didn't even know what was left of his foot. And he was still very much stuck. I wasn't sure if he was getting any circulation in the bottom part of his leg."
Someone handed her some scissors, she said, and she was able to cut Julian free from his mangled boot.
The boy also suffered some cuts and swelling but is otherwise OK, she added.
Diaczek said it was a scary situation, especially because she thought she had done everything right as a parent.
"You're holding onto your child and you're holding onto the railing. And you're not fooling around, you know. You're not leaning over and he's not crawling on it."
A statement from the airport says an ambulance was called to provide medical care for the child. A maintenance crew also inspected the escalator before it was started again.
"Our investigation into this incident is ongoing and we are reviewing maintenance and inspection records for the escalator," the airport said.
"Safety and security is our top priority and it's at the core of everything we do, and we will certainly implement any enhancements necessary pending the outcome of our investigation."
