Another small child’s foot has been mangled by the combination of the especially-grippy Crocs clogs and a moving escalator, according to WSBTV:
“There’s no reason this should have happened to my daughter,” said Alison Pregliasco, Lexi’s mother. “She was holding onto the rail…I heard her screaming and tried to pull her foot out and it wouldn’t come out and the escalator just kept going down. And, I just started screaming at the top of my lungs, ‘Somebody stop this thing, somebody stop this thing. We have to make it stop.’”
Pregliasco said it took 15 minutes to get her daughter’s right foot out of the escalator. EMTs took the child to the hospital, where doctors put pins in her foot and performed surgery to clean bones and remove contaminated skin.
“Three broken toes, two pretty severely broken, the other is just a hairline fracture,” said Pregliasco. “The toe was severed down to the bone and they called it a ‘dirty wound’ because they had escalator grease in there.”
Crocs is currently being sued over a similar incident. The company responded to that lawsuit by saying that they “take escalator safety seriously.”
The CPSC recently issued a warning about “some shoes” causing more risk of entrapment on escalators than others, but were careful not to specify which brand of shoes they were talking about.
CPSC is aware of 77 entrapment incidents since January 2006, with about half resulting in injury. All but two of the incidents involved popular soft-sided flexible clogs and slides.
Girl, 3, Injured On Airport Escalator [WSBTV](Thanks, Ryan!)
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Let me be the first today:
It’s the girl’s fault for wearing those type of shoes in an unsafe situation. Where is the consumer responsibility here?
Listen, not a year goes by, not a year, that I don’t hear about some escalator accident involving some bastard kid which could have easily been avoided had some parent – I don’t care which one – but some parent conditioned him to fear and respect that escalator.
@full.tang.halo: chocolate covered pretzel?
Wearing those shoes otta be a federal offense.
@full.tang.halo: Nice extraction from [consumerist.com] there.
I can’t believe people are even weraing those things!They’re terribly ugly, and there’s no way they can provide the kind of support that your feet desperately need. It sucks that a child was hurt, but come on people, stop buying these ugly rubber “shoes”!
I just don’t understand, my mom ALWAYS made me hop at the end of the escalator to avoid the, in her words “very dangerous” end of the escalator. BTW A friend of a friend got her foot stuck in a escalator (she was wearing flip flops) but she was drunk
I meant w-e-a-r-i-n-g
Someone’s gonna win a Darwin Award, just wait. Stupid People/Parents + Stupid Shoes = Stupid Things Happening. I hate blaming the OP but seriously, have some personal resposibility.
I wasn’t going to put a sarcastic comment…but okay…
@akede2001: I don’t know if you were serious or not, and I hate to blame the consumer, but it’s no secret that Crocs and esclators don’t mix. If you let the kid wear the shoes then pick them up on the escalator or take the elevator.
You can’t make the entire world safe from people’s ignorance, stupidity, and lack of attention. Parent’s should have been paying attention.
God’s punishment for wearing Crocs.
@zero_o:
Ignorance is bliss…and the reason for the lack of common sense and most lawsuits.
@akede2001: or the fact I completed the quote on [consumerist.com]
too and just happened to get it in again 1st here. Move along troll, no food for you here.
Parents should watch their children carefully on escalators no matter what kind of shoes they’re wearing!
Hmm, I knew what the escalator “could” do to me since my parents taught me. I am wondering if teaching is more like punishment now days.
I feel really bad for the kid, but the parent should be watching their kid. Especially since they have signs about the dangers of the escalator right next to it. Most bother not to read it though, since you know, it doesn’t pertain to them.
@full.tang.halo: HA!
I’m still siding with Crocs here. Japan asks them to change their shoes and they say fuck off. They get a gold star in my book.
That is karma from the universe for letting any one (even your spawn) wear those ugly, ugly shoes.
@full.tang.halo: Really couldn’t care less about getting a quote in.
But let’s not lose sight of the real issue here. The girl needs to accept some personal responsibility for letting herself get injured. It’s rather upsetting that people seem to think the parent should be responsible for everything. The kid is old enough to know what shoes are and how to interact with moving objects.
If anything, the mall should sue the girl and her family for causing such a scene. They could very well be losing a lot of business just because some little kid comes in and decides to be an attention whore.
@akede2001:YES!!!!
@akede2001: sarcasm is okay. I can’t tell, though, if your comment has any. either way you’re just too close to being out of line. kids’ injuries are never, ever funny.
When this first started occurring, I read several places that said the rate of incident with Crocs was roughly the same as with all sandals, especially flip-flops. Sounds like just an easy way to blame the trendy shoes…
In a recent press release from Crocs:
“We have thoroughly examined our product, and found no problems” said a Croc representative “The problem appears to lie with the movable ground that consumers are so insistent in using. Escalators and moving sidewalks are inherently dangerous products, does anyone not remember the closing sequence from the futuristic television series “The Jetsons” when George would take astro out on the moving sidewalk for a walk and his entire body would become entrapped? Escalators and moving sidewalks were dangerous in the past, they are dangerous today, and based on the Jetsons, they will still be dangerous in the future. Escalator manufacturers need to design a safer system and perhaps removing the “moving” aspects of these components would be a step in the right direction”
***Disclamer – the above quotations are fictional and were not released by Crocs or its representatives (yet). If Crocs would like to hire me as their crisis communications consultant, I can state the above with a straight face
Escalators have emergency stop buttons at both ends but I imagine the mother was too panicked to look for it though.
Unless things have changed since the last time I’ve gotten on one there are also signs telling you to step over the part where the moving stairs meet the floor.
If anybody should be warning people it should be the people who make Crocs. It’s not like the escalator is defective or somthing.
Nope. Sorry. Still not Croc’s fault.
@heypal: It’s definitely a goof on the classic Consumerist ‘blame the victim’ comment.
@Rachacha: They need to hire you NOW.
bullshit, its not crocs fault. escalaters should be built for all types of footwear.
@akede2001: Don’t blame the kid. The kid is just a kid. Blame the parents if you’re going to play the blame game.
But shouldn’t you really be blaming someone for not putting up warnings on the Crocs and the whole Crocs + escalators = loss of toes?
@full.tang.halo: I knew I wouldn’t have to go far to find that reference, nice!
Another example of why some people are too damn stupid to be parents.
How many times does this happen before people learn to tell the kids to be careful on those things
So if someone’s untied shoelace got sucked into the escalator who would get sued? The shoelace manufacturer?
How about we just go back to stairs and elevators? Subways get an exemption.
@wgrune: It’s kind of odd. Really, people should be keeping an eye on shoelaces. You kind of make sure that your shoelace doesn’t get caught.
The thing about Crocs is if you look at the shoe, you wouldn’t expect it to get caught in something as big as an escalator. So how could a Croc that looks like a shoe safe for kids, be a risk to lose a body part?
@Breach I’m not sure if you’re trying to be funny (if so, you fail), but a little girl’s foot was badly maimed here. I find it offensive that you would suggest she deserved it for her bad fashion sense. Have a little empathy.
Lawsuits over this kind of thing do nothing but add to the litigious nature of our society and cause manufacturers to come up with ridiculous warning tags to cover their asses. Should the parent have been watching closer? Probably, but sometimes tragic things just happen and no one is at fault.
A lot of people are hurt on escalators every year (the exact figure? I don’t have it) wearing all kinds of shoes. This is only making news because the kid was wearing Crocs. I’m not a Croc-lover, nor am I against them, but I think that’s why this is getting press.
Akede2001 clearly isn’t familiar with the knowledge and reasoning capacity of a three-year-old.
I don’t see why some kind of safety guard can’t be installed on escalators. Like others have pointed out, it’s not just one type of shoe that poses a risk, it’s a good portion of the shoes people wear every day. I’m not an escalator engineer, but it seems like there could be some small, flat barrier that helps prevent anything from getting sucked into the crack, and maybe a sensor that can tell if a foreign object has entered that area so the escalator can shut off automatically.
@RothRandom: Initially I started out just trolling out of sheer bordom..
But about your comment, no, I don’t think we should have warning signs about it. Just as people shouldn’t need a billion warning signs on the door of their car about how it can be dangerous to get in the vehicle, and ways to prevent any such injuries. Just how we don’t need to put warnings on our food about how they may present choking hazards.
And as it is, what would nearly every parent do if they even bothered to read the sign? I don’t think they’d stop to have their kids remove their shoes. While this instance and injury is indeed the parents fault for failing to teach her child about the dangers of automatic stairs– she also failed to keep an eye on her to make sure she was getting off properly.
It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing shoes or not, or what kind you’re wearing. The risk is the same. The parent was likely within two feet of the emergency stop. Instead of using it, she yelled for others to do it and tried to pull her kid out of the escalator. It sounds to me like the parent doesn’t even understand the risks involved, which is our root problem. Stupid people. This has all sorts of fail on it, and I believe the parent is at fault.
An escalator is a mechanical. It does the same thing all the time while it’s on. More than 99% of people have no problem. Considering that only one person was hurt who does not understand how to use it (hence parental guardian), then the machine was reinstated without a redesign or anything– that there was nothing wrong with it, and this is an issue of misuse.
@Rectilinear Propagation:
Absolutely correct.
Yo, stupid moms and even stupider people standing around watching. Try the panic button next time to stop the escalator or moving sidewalks. There is a reason the button is located at both ends of the escalator.
Maybe I have been living under a rock but this is the first time I have heard anything about Crocs being bad about sticking (or whatever) to escalators.
It’s irrelevant anyway seeings as how I pic my children up on those toe cutter offers.
She should have used a credit card…then they wouldn’t have charged 1/2 toe interest.
D-
I still don’t get how the shoe is the issue here. If your kid is too stupid to lift their feet, then pick them up! The escalator has a warning to watch your step. The shoes are shoes!!!
When I was 5, I wasn’t paying attention at the end of an escalator ride and didn’t move my foot so my flat laceless shoe got stuck. My mom, being a watchful parent, picked me up very quickly, but the back of the escalator step scraped the back of my heel and took the shoe with it. After lifting me up, my mom yelled at me for not moving my feet and paying attention. From that day forward, I watched my foot every single time I got on one. Shoe was destroyed, escalator kept running, and I learned my lesson.
@KarmaChameleon: lol trufax
I’ve seen Crocs before and I’m honestly confused about how people are more prone to escalator accidents when wearing these shoes.
@full.tang.halo:
hexychick
I’m still scared of ‘em and will jump off well in advance… This is just more proof that the green light wants to be fed. Mum told me it would eat me. *shudders*
My toes feel so funny….
If you think about it, Escalators are pretty freakin’ scary and dangerous, period. Kids get hurt on them all the time, and when you add in the Crocs, it just gets worse.
Keep an eye on your kids – they don’t come out of the womb ready to survive like they used to!
They’re not…but crocs are more prone to get covered in the news…after getting caught…
there’s a step at the end folks…you’re not supposed to just try and slide off, pick up your feet.
It’s like blaming the mall for having a curb that you tripped over.
Don
Mother should share the blame too.
Sorry, but this is _clearly_ a problem with escalators. No moving object should be built so that it can EAT A HUMAN’S FOOD. Elevators have all sorts of automatic interrupt switches. Even industrial machines have interlocks all over creation.
The engineer in me wonders why there isn’t some sort of automatic kill switch that detects foreign objects getting into the teeth of the escalator, in addition to better guards to prevent stuff from getting in there in the first place. Thinking of the cross section of an elevator’s end, it seems like there could be a photobeam detector just under the teeth that watches for any foreign matter, or something along those lines. Hell, they’re making table saws now that can shut down in an instant if a finger comes in contact with them.