Rescuer Badly Hurt While Saving Child

Tue., Jan. 4, 2000

From Staff

A man remained in critical condition Monday after he stepped in front of a sledder at a north Spokane park to stop the sledder from crashing into a child.

A spokeswoman at Deaconess Medical Center said Tom Higgins was in critical condition, but would not disclose the extent of his injuries.

A crowd of about 50 people was sledding on the hill at Holmberg Park on Saturday, according to witnesses. A man on an inner tube-like sled launched from the top of the hill.

When it became clear he was going to run over a boy in his path, Higgins “ran out into the middle of the track and swooped the kid up,” said Tom Hedequist, who watched the accident. “As soon as he got the kid cradled in his arms (the sledder) hit him at about the waist.”

Higgins flipped head over heels and went face down into the snow. “He just sacrificed himself,” Hedequist said. “You could hear his back snap when it hit him.

“He saved this kid. He’s a real hero.”

The child flew out of his arms, but was unharmed, witnesses said.

Higgins was transported to Deaconess Medical Center by helicopter after reporting feelings of numbness, Fire Chief Bob Anderson said.

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