Additional Coverage:
- Tennessee boy, 5, allegedly suffers brain bleed and broken neck during hike with family (themirror.com)
A five-year-old boy is recovering from a brain bleed and other injuries after a fall on a hiking trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Earlier this month, Xavier Godoy was hiking with his family on the Abrams Falls Trail when he fell from a bridge, hitting his head on a rock and landing in the river below. His mother, Nicole, described the terrifying moment: “Instead of letting me take the stick he threw it and when he threw it, he went to catch the railing and his hand just, like, barely went under it and that’s when he hit the rock.”
She credits fellow hikers with rescuing her son, who was unresponsive for a time. Xavier was airlifted to a nearby medical center where he was treated for a brain bleed, a broken neck, and a head laceration.
The understandably shaken mother told reporters that the family hasn’t returned to the trail since the accident. She believes the bridge’s railings are inadequate and is calling on the park to improve safety conditions to prevent similar incidents. “Maybe this wasn’t just an accident,” she said, “maybe it was something we can prevent from keeping other people from getting hurt.”