Six-year-old girl injured after falling off float in Alberta parade

WAINWRIGHT, Alta. — A six-year-old girl was seriously injured after falling off a parade float on the weekend, the mayor of a town in east-central Alberta said Monday.

Wainwright Mayor Brian Bethune said the child fell from the 4-H Alberta float Saturday afternoon in the town’s stampede parade.

“It happened right as the parade was going past the Wainwright hospital,” Bethune said. “A fellow who was watching the parade quickly picked her up and took her to the hospital.”

The girl was airlifted to an Edmonton hospital because there was a worry she might have brain damage, he said.

Brain damage is no longer a concern, Bethune said, but the girl is recovering from some broken bones.

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He said he doesn’t know details about the fall.

“We’ll get a hold of the family later this week when things calm down a bit and talk about what happened,” he said.

“I know there is some video out there that people along the parade route have taken and we’re trying to get a copy of that.”

The town’s stampede association is to decide if there are any further safety precautions needed before next year’s parade.

“We have lots of time for the review,” Bethune said. “Right now we just want to make sure she’s OK and support the family until they get back home.”

A statement from 4-H Alberta, an agricultural youth group, confirmed one of its members was injured while taking part in the parade.

“While we cannot comment on the member’s condition, we know they are receiving excellent medical care and are in good hands,” the statement said.

“On behalf of those involved in 4-H, our thoughts are with the family and we wish the member a speedy recovery.”

Bethune said the girl’s injury is the first he’s heard of in the 66 years since Wainwright’s parade started.

There have been other parade accidents elsewhere, including fatalities.

Last year in Yarmouth, N.S., a four-year-old girl died after falling underneath a moving parade float during the Santa Claus parade procession.

The province’s transportation minister said at the time that his department was undertaking a review and considering whether safety conditions could be improved.

In 2012, an eight-year-old boy died after he jumped from a Ukrainian dance float and was run over in a parade in Preeceville, Sask. In 1990, an eight-year-old girl was killed after she fell under the wheels of a hay wagon she was riding on during the Calgary Stampede parade.

— By Daniela Germano in Edmonton

The Canadian Press