Crocs and Escalators- NOT a Good Mix!
"Throw out your Crocs!" my sister hollered in my ear during a very early phone call last week. Her husband installs and repairs elevators and escalators for a living. One of his company's contracts is with the King of Prussia Mall. Apparently, during his morning safety meeting he had just learned that a little boy's toe was severed off at the King of Prussia Mall after his Croc got sucked into the escalator. An escalator that was up to code in every respect sucked the soft pliable shoe and a young boys foot into the moving stairs. They did manage to get the boys foot out, but the little guy may have have to live the rest of his life with only 9 piggy toes. My heart dropped.
I thought for sure, this story would be on the local news or all over the internet, but I've seen no reports. What an important story for all moms to hear about! I mean how many kids do you know that have at least one if not two or three pairs of these convenient pool and garden shoes? At my house alone we have orange, green, pink and blue pairs which have been on my kids feet just about every day this summer. We literally wear them everywhere...no laces to tye, they can get muddy and the kids love all the little gibbitz we've collected.
Can you imagine going to the mall on a hot day to escape the summer sun and instead suffering from such a tragedy? According to my brother in law, this is not the first report about Crocs being unsafe on escalators.
He says this can happen with any soft shoe or shoe with a loose or dangling strap, but people just aren't aware that Crocs can be so dangerous. He also told me to always take the elevators because in general they are much safer for kids. What? I always thought the escalator was the safer bet! You know for fear of getting trapped in an elevator or a cable being loose and free falling and crashing to the bottom floor.
He then continued with his escalator safety lecture. He said if you must take the escalator with the kids to always hold hands, have them stand in the middle, no strollers and know where the emergency shut off button is. I had no idea that such buttons were even there!
After some time to think about this horrific toe injury, I have decided NOT to throw out the Crocs at our house. I mean, I won't let my four year old ride her bike in flip flops for fear of stubbing her toes. So if I go to the mall, why not take the extra time to properly lace up sneakers? Hopefully, the Crocs company will include important warning labels with the shoes and malls will post signs by escalators that include Crocs in the list of hazards. I do still love these shoes, BUT you can be sure we will be cognizant of when and where we wear them! Spread the word, share this story...
This is an original post to Philly Moms Blog. Kristie is a children's book author and has a personal blog, where she writes about her busy life as a working mom of 2 (almost 3) and author. You can also follow her daily adventures on Twitter!
