'Real scary': Mother wants accountability from Wauwatosa school after daughter's accident at recess leads to ER visit
CBS 58 WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Theta LeFlore didn't expect to spend her Wednesday inside of a hospital's emergency room.
But when her 5-year-old daughter was playing during recess at Pilgrim Lutheran, she said she received a call from the school's staff.
"It was real scary," LeFlore told CBS 58's Ellie Nakamoto-White.
Her child's long hair had gotten caught in holes on a slide.
"When she tried to slide down, her hair caught and ripped her hair," LeFlore said, pointing to the two now bald spots on the top of her daughter's head. "Hopefully her hair grows back, hopefully. I'm still mad about it."
While LeFlore said accidents do happen, she claims a lack of response from a present adult made the situation worse.
"When my baby told me she was hollering and screaming and no one came and helped, that's why I feel like it was neglect," LeFlore said. "It could've been prevented because if she was stuck on the slide, they could've come and helped save her hair."
Her daughter was treated at the hospital but it's unclear if her hair will grow back in those spots.
"She's gonna be traumatized until this comes back," LeFlore said, adding that she just wants to spread awareness and that she is still waiting for a copy of the school's incident report. "I don't know how long she was dangling or crying for help; she told me she was screaming for help and no one came and helped her."
CBS 58 reached out to the school. We received the following statement from LUMIN Schools President and CEO Shaun Luehring:
"We are aware of an unfortunate, unforeseen injury on the playground yesterday.
Due to student privacy laws, we are unable to share specific details about this individual accident; however, we can confirm that staff quickly responded with care, evaluated the injury and promptly notified the family, following established standards.
LUMIN Schools maintain playground supervision aligned with best practices, and staff members who supervise students are trained and equipped to appropriately respond to accidents.
We remain committed to providing every student with a safe and supportive environment and will continue to ensure our staff have the training, resources and support necessary to uphold LUMIN’s high standards of care."
