A 5-year-old Pasadena girl was trapped in an operating washing machine Tuesday, police said. She is recovering in a hospital.
The girl was stuck inside the machine drum for several minutes as it started operating at Le's Washeteria in the 2400 block of Southmore Avenue around 6:15 p.m. when a customer noticed her.
According to the Pasadena police, the woman tried to use the machine at Le's Washateria and told a manager it was a faulty machine The woman then moved to another machine before the child became trapped. It remains unclear how the girl was trapped inside the washing machine, reports KHOU.
An employee at the launderette immediately turned off the electricity supply and pulled her out of the machine.
"Unfortunately she spun around in that washing machine for several minutes and apparently it was on high speed," Vance Mitchell, from Pasadena Police, told myFox Houston. "She was tumbling pretty fast in there. One person walked by and said they saw something flopping around in there they thought it was just a dress or something because it was moving pretty fast."
The girl was airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital. Doctors said the child was recovering and the injuries were not life-threatening. Police said they are treating it as an accident. They did not say where the parents of the girls were or who was with her during the incident.
"You've got to watch your kids. That's the bottom line. If that was my son or granddaughter, I'd be really upset that I let it happen," said Mitchell.
