• escalator safety

Her hand would not come out. It was sucked in more and more. It happened on the 8th of September 1989. I had never heard of anyone being injured in the space at the side of an escalator step before. As I later discovered, however, these gaps had been injuring nearly one person a month in Montreal alone.

Thea is our second daughter so we had experience caring for toddlers. Our children were watched continuously in our “baby-proofed” house. We live downtown and have never owned a car. Instead we travel by Metro, bus, or on foot. When, at 18 months, Thea became too heavy for a “snuggly” we began to use a stroller on outings.

On this occasion, being age 2, she did not want to go in the stroller as we approached the escalator. She could walk well and her independent nature made her decide to travel on foot. Thea was carrying a bag of raisins but dropped the bag on the escalator step. When she went to pick it …