Posted
By Vince Grzegorekvgrzegorek@clevescene.com>
on Mon, Mar 1, 2021 at 10:15 AM
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Natalie Wilson, family photo
A 15-year-old girl died and a 17-year-old girl sustained serious spinal cord injuries in separate sledding accidents at Hinckley Hill the weekend of Feb. 20th.
Officials say the hill, a popular area for sledding, became icy that Saturday and Sunday as temperatures rose and thawing snow became "a sheet of ice." In both incidents, according to reports, the sledders veered off to the right of the hill and into trees.
Eirelyn Zuercher, the 15-year-old Akron teen, suffered a "detrimental brain injury," according to a Facebook post from her mother. Compounding the tragedy, her father suffered a massive heart attack and died as the family arrived at the hospital. She was kept on life support for days as the hospital worked to find recipients for her organs.