Little Girl Recovering After Parade Accident

NEWBERG, OR — The 6-year-old girl who fell from a float in the Newberg parade over the weekend remains in fair condition at a Portland hospital on Monday.

The little girl reportedly sustained serious injuries when she slipped from a float and went under one of the flatbed truck's wheels during the Old Fashioned Festival Parade in Newberg July 28. The incident occurred around 11 a.m. just barely one block from one of the city's fire stations.

After she was run over, the girl was reportedly taken by LifeFlight to Randall Children's Hospital in Portland. Emergency responders believed she suffered internal injuries, according to KATU News.

"She’s just a young child. She was on the float as part of the parade and just accidentally fell off and ended up underneath the tires of the float, which is so unfortunate," Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue spokeswoman Kim Haughn told KATU. "That had to have been so scary, not only to see but also really scary for her as well."

According to a Facebook post apparently made by the girl's father, Justin Sainton, initial assessments diagnosed the possibility of severe internal injuries, such as "a punctured lung, fractured skull, and minor brain bleed," Sainton wrote.

However, "By the time it was all reviewed by a neurosurgeon, she was totally cleared of any punctured lungs, skull fractures, or internal bleeding," he said. "Not even a broken bone."

To prevent these kinds of accidents, Newberg parade officials previously prohibited any children under 12 from walking in the parade and banned things like tossing candy from floats — which could also reportedly lure children into the parade's path.

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