At 6:00pm yesterday [Tuesday] a young boy was playing on the gate by the apartment complex on E New York and Kingston, where he got tangled in the gate and was crushed. The gate serves as the entrance for cars to enter the buildings parking lot and is operated by a remote control.

Apparently the child held on to the gate to get a ride up with the gate when something went wrong and the gate didn’t stop, and it pulled the child into the roll of the gate where it tangled and crushed the boy. A Shomrim member that happened to have been passing by, BeHashgocha Protis, called for help over the radio and within 20 seconds there were 3 Shomrim member there along with one passerby who began working on freeing the child from the gate.

More pictures in the Extended Article.

Shomrim Save Childs Life in Freak Accident!

At 6:00pm yesterday [Tuesday] a young boy was playing on the gate by the apartment complex on E New York and Kingston, where he got tangled in the gate and was crushed. The gate serves as the entrance for cars to enter the buildings parking lot and is operated by a remote control.

Apparently the child held on to the gate to get a ride up with the gate when something went wrong and the gate didn’t stop, and it pulled the child into the roll of the gate where it tangled and crushed the boy. A Shomrim member that happened to have been passing by, BeHashgocha Protis, called for help over the radio and within 20 seconds there were 3 Shomrim member there along with one passerby who began working on freeing the child from the gate.

More pictures in the Extended Article.

Another passerby who saw what was going on pulled his minivan under the gate which Shomrim utilized to remove the child from the gate. The child was unconscious at the time. Hatzalah were on scene a mere moment after Shomrim freed the child, when the child woke up and began screaming in pain, Hatzalah began stabilizing the child and transported him along with his mother to Kings County Hospital where he was listed in stable condition. B”H.

FDNY and NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit responded to the call as well.

In any case of emergency always have Shomrim’s number handy and dont hesitate to call (718) 774-3333 24/7

The Daily News Take on the incident:

Brooklyn tot snared inside automatic gate

A 3-year-old boy playing on an automatic gate in Brooklyn got the scare of his young life yesterday when the partition suddenly rolled up – taking him with it, neighbors said.

Quick-thinking Crown Heights residents backed a van under the trapped boy, and using the vehicle as a stepladder, manually lowered the curled metal gate, springing a tearful Levi Ladayov.

The 12-foot-high Kingston Ave. parking-lot gate, which until Monday hadn’t worked, apparently served as a junglegym for the victim and his brother, who were climbing on it while their mother watched nearby.

Neighbors said little Levi appeared to have bruises on his body and gashes along his neck. He was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.

72 Comments

  • chani

    i am so sorry for what happened, but for goodness sake WHERE WERE THE PARENTS???
    WHAT KIND OF A CHILD HANGS ONTO A GATE FOR A RIDE????
    IS THIS NORMAL??????????????????????

  • B- Hitturnedoutok

    Yes, Shomrim truly did save the child’s life, but credit needs to be given as well to the many other people who franticly helped in freeing the child: The owner of the shuck, Moshe R. and others.

  • baruch

    a groise yasher coach to the ch shomrim & to hatzolo- may hashem bless all of us!

  • sister or boy in orange shirt

    thats my brother in the orange shirt on top of the car he pulled the boy out way to go

  • watching from the park

    children should not be climbing these gates it is very dangerous

  • Rivky

    How is the boy feeling?

    Bchlal, when someone gets hurt, it is not a time to be judgemental towards his actions or parents, our concern should mainly be for the individual!!!

    Yasher koach to all who helped out!

  • to mr. americca

    good morning america
    what were p. trying to teach there childen if not think b/4 you act

  • wow

    how did the boy survive after being rolled up in that gate ? we r soo lucky he survived!

  • a shtikel rebel, but in a good way

    i was there and i and many otherrs witnessed an open nes without question instead of taking on new hachlatos in a time of tragedy everyone should take on new hachlotes when they witness a nes and show g-d that it takes good things to happen to get us to make hachlotes

  • a crown heights bubby

    after reading all the comments on this freak accident with the child and the roll up gate, the last comment from a shtikel rebel, really hit the spot. May we merit the hisgalus of Melech Hamoshiach to take us all out of this golus. where mothers will have all the help they need to take care of their precious bundles 24/7 etc.

  • yisroel

    sorry what chani wrote is uncalled for ..unfortunately parents can not be at all placs at all times … number 2 unfortunately children do stupid things .. after all they are just that a child .. children gamble on things such is the nature of children .. chani lighten up and get a grip .. engage your brain before you shoot off your mouth

  • withheld

    This was an accident that could’ve been prevented. Why was a child left downstairs unattended playing with the gate? I’m sure that there were other adults watching their children downstairs as they are everyday. They should know that the gate is not a toy cars come and go everyminute. The gate is meant to go up and down. It is a parking lot for g-ds sake it is not a park,or a playground. Parents who live there should remember that.

  • withheld

    This was an accident that could’ve been prevented. This is a parking lot for g-ds sake it is not a playground or a park. The parents that were sitting there watching their kids downstairs where were you when the kid was hanging on the gate? THE GATE GOES UP AND DOWN CONSTANTLY . CARS COME AND GO THATS WHAT ITS THERE FOR NOT FOR MONKEY BARS. this should be an eyeopener for all the parents there you must watch your kids constantly downstairs especially the little ones. The cars come and go there. May he have refuah shelama speedily.

  • Friend of the family

    A.H. from shomrim did a great job. Hatzalah was on the scene immediately, and you must give credit to M.R. and M.F. who were the first ones to stop ,pull up their car and try to get the child out. Everyone together did a great job Biachdus!

  • Mom

    Maybe the people buliding the condo’s should think about putting in a play area.

  • Hashem Yishmore

    It is now between camp and school. We got to watch our kids. It takes the whole village to raise a chiald. Oholai Torah has a "learning never ends" program which more parents should take advantage of.

  • Viewer

    How old is the child? If he is very little, then it’s true that he needs to be carefully supervised. But if he’s not sooo little, then you can’t blame the parents for not being there. It IS normal for parents not to watch their kids every second, especially if they’re playing outside with other kids, and it IS normal for kids to climb gates. Isn’t that obvious?

  • mick

    was it a lub. child that got hurt? boy or girl? how old?
    any name for tehillim?
    thats my cousin in 2 of those pics

  • hatzlacha bezman

    this is such a time waster its not even funny just everyone say b"h and say tehillim for the boy and stop discusing all the dumb parts of the situation and go say tehilllim

  • kids will be kids

    This gate is new and replaced an older one just a few weeks ago. you would think that there would be some sort of saftey mechanism to avoid these types of situations on the "upgrade". I say sue!

  • YOSY

    The IKAR is that B"H the kid is OK!

    I am curious, if they can make elevators have sensors that tell the control that if someone’s leg or hand is still in the doorway, then the doors shouldn’t close, why can’t they make the same system for those kind of gates as well? Some type of safety switch that would automatically kill the motor from rolling up if someone or something is stuck inside.

    Anyway, HAGAM that is was an open nes, however, parents need to have eyes in back of thier heads let alone the front!

    WATCH YOUR (OUR) KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    KISVA V’CHASIMA TOVA L’SHANA TOVA U’MESUKA!

  • angry person

    Why didn’t they lock the mother up for giving her kids rides on the gate????

  • to sister of boy in orange shirt

    hmmm.. so are all your friends wanting to talk to him now???

  • normalmother

    I used to live in this apartment complex and I will tell you all first hand that most of the parents living here do not watch their children. They let them run around the parking lot playing, even when cars are coming in! I’m not surprised something like this happened.
    But one thing I am surprised at, who in their right mind would let a child play on this gate? Not only has it had problems in the past, but it is not a toy.
    Come on people, watch your children and have them play with toys designed for children. You don’t see them selling garage gates at Toys R Us do you?

  • Upset at YOU for criticizing

    rTo all you people who keep saying that the parents should have been watching, and that the kids should think before they do something, YOU should think before you write something so stupid and unnecessary like that.
    Kids do things like that, that’s why there is the concept of a kid and an adult, otherwise why differ?
    Just because of age? as a matter of fact the reason why a boy who is 13 years old is called a "Bar Mitzvah", is because he is old enough to take responsibilities which is not the case before the age of thirteen, secondly, don’t tell me that your parents never let you play outside with other kid’s parents out there!! There is nothing wrong with that! And instead of criticizing, be concerned.

    Sincerely,
    Smart dude

  • Be a mentch

    Yasher Koach, Sthikel Rebel for your comment. We definitely need to show the Aibersther that when he does something great for us, THAT is when we react with more mitzvos.

    And for all you people out there judging the parents, just know that it is only by Hashem’s mercy that this, or another such incident, didn’t happen to your child because no parent can possibly watch all children at all times. I witnessed my own 2 year old go under the water in the bathtub while I was right there with him, but turned around to get his towel! Baruch Hashem he was fine but I had to yank him out and help him catch his breath! It’s Hashem’s world…so stop judging people and daven that Hashem should keep all Yiddishe kinderlach safe!

  • Someone who reallyknows

    To all you geniuses that decided to write before thinking:
    Normalmother – u used to live there? What kind of a normal person writes such a lie!! No one watches their children outside when they play?? You obviously were not one of the parents that sit outside – at least 6 – 7 at a time – and watched your child!! How can you write something so untrue????
    And to all the rest of you commentators – The child was climbing on a gate – a 3 year old does that – He was just being told to get off when the gate suddenly went up! He is too youg to react the way most of us would!
    Instead of looking to "tell off" someone else in their time if tzar – do somethinbg to make it better. Say Tehillim and try to teach your kids from a young age and then tell others what and how!!

  • sara

    oh and by the way, the child was not playing on the gate for a ride – idiots!! It was just installed and suddenly rose on its own and being that he is so young – he doesn’t have the instinct to jump off.
    stop the negativity and start doing something

  • Oh, you-re angry?

    To angry person,
    I have no words to describe how sick your comment is. All I can do is Daven for you and hope that you have a speedy recovery.

  • rats

    what kind of retard are you chani!? what kind of child dosent hang onto a gate for a ride???

  • a neighbour

    i would like to echo the last 2 comments, the parents of this child are wonderfull people who do al ot of chesed for others and they take very good care of their kids.
    stop criticizing without knowing and if the only thing you have to say is baseless, vicious and negative, then DONT say it.
    everybody who is a parent knows that despite your best efforts its impossible to keep your eyes on your kids the ENTIRE time.
    a little ahavas yisroel would go a long way!!!

  • i was there 5

    i was there and i only saw three people on the car pulling the gate down to free the child first on the car was the boy in the orange shirt and then the man from the shuk and the man with the white think safty shirt thank all three of you for great thinking and action kol hakovod

  • Thankful!

    It’s wonderful that so many people stopped to assist! They should be commended, BUT…we must always dial 911 immediately to insure that our FDNY Firemen and the EMT’s are on the way. Seconds count in an emergency…if more assistance was required than what the citizens were able to provide…it’s vital that these skilled professionals be on hand! Great job by ALL!!!

  • Sara

    Personally, I feel sick reading many of your comments. First, stop calling eachother "idiots." Second of all, imagine how much tzar the boys parents are in now. How do you think your comments are affecting them? Of course they now know how dangerous such a thing can be. What good is it going to do them with you telling them how they should have stopped their little son that he should never have climber on the gate? Also, kids do plenty of things that can be harmful but B"H hardly are. Because of this, many don’t take the neccessary precautions when playing such dangerous games. I see kids climbing on fences all the time. Just walk outside of 770 and you can see kids climbing on the rails. Now, if C"VS one time a kid is climbing on the fence and he gets hurt (which unfortunatly has happened), you could say that it was really un-wise for these kids to participate in such an activity, but to these kids they have never seen anybody get hurt participating in such an activity, and it just seems like an innocent game to them. Kids need to be warned about the dangers of many of these popular games that they participate in. We need to learn from these lessons, stop stabbing eachother with our words, and we need to daven that Hashem should give this young boy a refuah sheleimah. May there be no more such occurances in our communities.

  • MONSEY BOY

    REFUAH SHLAIMA
    AND KUDOS TO SHOMRIM AND HATZOLOH AND ALSO REMEMBER CHAVERIM.

  • Normalmother

    To Someone who reallyknows:
    obviously you don’t really know. There have been many many incidents in which something has happened to a child over in that building. BH nothing this bad. Your right, I never did sit out there. But when I would come into the parking lot in my car, kids would run in front of it and none of the parents would do anything. I think more of the problem is that they can’t control their children. If the parents would watch their children more closely, the child would have never even been anywhere near the gate in the first place.
    Yea, Bh the child is ok, but the child is not to be blamed. Your right, he didn’t know any better, but his mother did.

  • att all of you

    to hatzlacha bezman:
    i think all those who sit on this site every third second of thier free time can learn from your comment. nice job!

  • Crown heights is the bomb

    For all of you that are still reading, Stop praising parents for not looking after their children, even though it was a mistake, the parents deserve every bit of stik that there getting.
    GO HATZOLOH

  • WATCH WAHT YOU SAY

    To crown heights is the bomb:
    Did you really say that the parents deserve it? That’s so not nice and untrue. You don’t realize how easy it is for something like this to happen even when the parents are right there, so don’t say things that just don’t make sense and that are extremely disgusting like that.

  • Yehudis Steiner

    I was there. I heard yelling from my apartment and called the police. I saw the scene from my porch. I honestly belive it was a real miracle. I saw it happening in front of my own eyes.

  • unknown

    I live in this building and watched the scene. It was really scarey! I just want to send one important message. I can say this because I live there and I am not accusing anyone but CHILDREN SHOULD NOT PLAY IN A PARKING LOT even if parents are watching. A car can come in any second- I feel uncomfortable to tell my neighbors this but this is what I feel. Lefferts park is around the corner and that is where kids belong.

  • Itzik_s

    Kids will be kids. This happens. We just need to thank Hashem that the boy is BH OK.

  • I want to go out and Play

    Another reason why we need more decent safe playing areas for our kids to release their energy. Kids have the right to be able to play on jungle gyms that are safe for them.

  • Aaron Ohev Sholem

    To mormalmother
    Do you know why a blind man is called a "SAGIE NOEH" I think this would be applicable in your title b/c to write what you wrote the first time can be attributed to anger – frustration, but after all the coments responding to your writings, one would think twice b/4 writing same again.
    IZ ZAY GEZUNT b’TOICHICIE KLAL YISROEL and earn a new TITLE.
    Ah GUT YOHR TZU ALEH YIDDEN

  • Levi Matusof

    when i was a boy i was speeding my bycicle downhil and tumbled head first, into the pavement on troy avenue. the first respnse from a woman who stopped from her car was "you should never do that!" she was yelling at me. the last thing a child or parent needs to hear following an accident is the critical feedback from an shoite who knows what everybody else should and shuldent be doing exept for themselves. do you get mad at your child when he accidently spilled hot water on himself? do you have a psychopathic need to shoot out blame onto some unsuspecting person just to make it better inside? its normal for humans to react with anger, but so long as your feelings rule and your mind is useless you have no buisness making a comment to a victem or their family before you think twice. can you imagine the guilt, as it is, that the mother is going thrugh? may we never know of even that, and may our consideration and caring for others merit that hashem show the same for us, and bring us redemption, when no more will we know pain.

  • Moshe (also a parent) from Los Angeles

    To start with, if someone would post the name of this little neshomah, maybe people reading all these posts would be able to say a little tehilim for him.

    Kids will always be kids and play with dangerous things.

    I have kids, but "sechel" one of those things parents should use.

    I would never let my kids play with gates. Why would any parent?

    If my kid played with a gate, they would be grounded. cummon!!! be responsible for educating your kids!

    Ribonoi shel olam! What are these parents thinking? There is a park right accross the street!

    Even with parents watching, those kids should not be playing in the parking lot!!!! ANY KID SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED TO PLAY IN A PARKING LOT.

    Additionally, the builders of condo buildings should put play areas for kids! very ture! where else should these kids play? in the tiny appartments that they live in?

    What else has to happen in order for people to learn some common sense?

    About the sensor on the garage gates, that is very true, but from the sounds of this story, how would such a sensor work? they already have sensors for closing gates.

  • Briendy

    The parents feel guilty and are very depressed! It is very rude to write s/t such as "be carefull" or "watch your children"

  • lea

    Mistakes happen and besides for saying tehillim, we can’t do much. Lashing out at the parents and saying be careful, you should have watched him, etc. is WRONG!!!! IY"H it won’t happen again
    and by the way, you can express your feelings without a dirty language…

  • mom of boys

    as a mother of very active boys, yes, kids are a hazard to their own lives. I used to think, what kind of kid would do this, but then hashem blessed me with my own very active, creative and adventure seeking kids of my own. Please be sensative before you write something like, what kink of kid does that, etc… and who knows, maby with Hashems sense of humor, you might be blessed with kids like that of your own.

  • MACHINE

    U GUYS ARE SOOOO MEAN I HAVE NO WORDS!!!!!
    POOR PARENTS! IF THEY READ ALL THIS…

    CHILDREN ARE CHILDREN AND THEY NEED TO EXPLORE! WE CANNOT ISOLATE CHILDREN!!!!!!
    REFUA SHLIMA TO THIS BOY!