Emily Davis, 11, went rock climbing outside of the Florida Marlin’s stadium after a baseball game on Saturday and fell 18 feet, plummeting to the ground after her safety harness went completely slack.
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According to ABC News, Emily’s dad Jeff recorded the horrifying moment on his cell phone camera, but when his daughter fell, he dropped the camera and sprinted to her side. In an interview with Good Morning America on Monday, Davis said, “I just wanted to know she was breathing.”
The phone continued to record the incident, and the girl could be heard whimpering as she regained consciousness.
Emily suffered a concussion, and was recuperating yesterday at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
“I don’t remember falling, or the ambulance ride,” Emily said. “I remember telling my dad it was a dream, wake up.”
Asked whether she would ever go rock-climbing again, Emily replied, “If I have a helmet on I guess?”
The Marlins organization immediately closed the rock-climbing attraction and is currently investigating the incident.
Emily’s accident actually happens quite often. In 2010, a Consumer Protection and Safety Administration study found that as many as 1,082 children between the ages of 2 and 18 were seriously hurt while rock climbing.
Harness failures, though, are rare.
Thank God she is all right, and we pray that she receives a quick and speedy recovery.
