5-Year-Old Girl Trapped In Washing Machine: Child Tossed Around On High-Speed Cycle

A 5-year-old girl trapped in a washing machine tumbled around on a high-speed cycle at a Houston laundromat before anyone noticed she was inside the appliance. The girl was airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital and is recovering from her injuries. She’s expected to survive.

KHOU reports that the incident took place at the Le’s Washateria in the 2400 block of Southmore Avenue about 6:15 pm Tuesday. The girl was apparently trapped in the machine for several minutes. Pasadena Police say a woman tried using the washer earlier, but let the manager know it wasn’t working right, so she got a refund.

No one knows how the girl wound up in the washing machine. Investigators are trying to determine when the machine began working again.

The child was reportedly trapped in the washing machine on high speed for several minutes before anyone noticed.

Witness Vance Mitchell informed police of what he saw.

“She was tumbling pretty fast in there. One person walked by and said they saw something flopping around in there. They thought it was just a dress or something because it was moving pretty fast.”

Police aren’t releasing information on where the girl’s parents were or if they were nearby when the incident happened. Law enforcement at the laundromat facility say that someone in charge of the girl wasn’t looking after her at that time.

“You’ve got to watch your kids. That’s the bottom line. If that was my son or granddaughter, I’d be really upset that I let it happen,” expresses Mitchell.

Responding paramedics scene told police that the 5-year-old is expected to survive. The girl sustained extensive injuries after being locked in the washing machine.

In a report out by Local 12, circuit breakers were switched off to get the girl out of the washing machine.

Police don’t suspect foul play.

There have been reports of other incidents involving children getting trapped in running washing machines. The Inquisitr wrote on one about a parent who deliberately put his young son in one as “punishment.” Then there’s a story about firefighters who rescued a child from being inside a laundromat washer.

It’s rare to hear about children getting locked, trapped, or stuck inside a running washer, but with little ones, anything seems possible when it comes to ways of getting hurt. Luckily, the 5-year-old girl locked in the washing machine in this story got out in time and didn’t suffer life-threatening injuries.

[Image via KHOU]