Toddler Trapped in Oil Pit
By: Lisa Carr
Updated: August 11, 2008
A Lubbock County toddler is recovering tonight after falling down a 6 foot deep, narrow oil pit.
He was stuck for more than half an hour. It happened just before 6:00 Monday at a home just East of New Deal. Officials say the 2-year-old boy was walking in his family's garage when he stepped on the cover of the pit where they keep their oil ... the cover gave way ... and he fell through. It took rescue crews from Abernathy and New Deal half an hour to get him out using a life safety rope with a non-slip knot. They say the child actually saved himself. Abernathy Volunteer Fire Chief Kelly Vandygriff says, "A bunch of people are gonna say the guys who did this are the heros of the deal, but a kid that young being able to comprehend what we needed him to do ... that's the main thing ... him being the hero out of the deal."
The little boy had to slip the rope under his arms so the men could pull him out. An ambulance took him to UMC to make sure he had no internal injuries, but he's expected to be just fine. Officials say this appears to just be an accident. Adults were with the child when he fell. They just weren't able to catch him fast enough.
