HOWLAND - A 7-year-old township girl has been hospitalized since last week following an accident involving an earth-moving machine.
According to a police report, a man was grading a hill at his North Road S.E. property on May 25 with a Bobcat loader and began to roll backward. The girl's father, Ronald Vincent, who was helping on the yard project, began screaming for the driver to go forward.
The driver - who hit his fence and a cement walkway - turned around and saw Vincent pull his daughter Marissa from the Bobcat.
The driver told police that he did not know Marissa was behind him, and he did not know he had struck her until he saw Vincent pull her away from the machine.
Police reported finding two empty beer cans near the scene.
The driver, according to the report, said he had not consumed any alcohol before or after operating the Bobcat. Vincent had been drinking beer prior to the accident, according to the report.
Officer Jeff Edmundson described the driver as visibly upset.
"His hands were shaking and he was crying off and on," the report said.
Vincent went to Trumbull Memorial Hospital with his daughter, so officers at the scene did not get a statement from him.
The girl appeared to have injuries to both her legs, hips and lower back, according to Edmundson. She was later flown to Akron Children's Hospital for treatment.