Crowd frees boy from escalator in frantic scene at Staten Island Mall
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. April 16 2021— A child in serious danger Sunday inside the Staten Island Mall spurred a community response that may have saved his life, while spectators say they were left with a sense of hope for the human spirit.
According to several people who reached out to the Advance/SILive.com, the scene unfolded at about 2 p.m. near JC Penney, when the child’s foot somehow became lodged in an escalator.
Video of the incident shows the boy in distress, surrounded by family and about a dozen bystanders; the escalator’s motor humming as a woman shouts for someone to press the emergency stop button.
Members of mall security and a K-9 officer worked alongside civilians in several attempts to free the child.
“At first they tried to line the escalator with as many men as they could in an attempt to push the escalator wall with their feet, but it didn’t help,” recalled a 43-year-old Bay Terrace woman who was shopping with her husband at the time.
A worker at a nearby store ran over with cream in an attempt to free the boy’s foot, but that also proved unsuccessful. “Then, someone yelled out for a metal stick or rod,” the woman said.
A member of Staten Island Mall security makes contact with firefighters, while in the background, what appears to be the child’s shoe remains lodged in the escalator. (Submitted)
Mall staff members provided one, at which point the woman said her husband was able to pry back the wall and free the child.
Standing among the crowd which had gathered, coincidentally, was state Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn), who moments later commended the efforts of everyone involved.
“They did what they had to do and then went about their business; nobody stuck around to take credit,” Savino said. “I’m really proud of the people of Staten Island right now.”
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