Local sledding death reminder of winter safety

New Carlisle, IN
A Mishawaka man is dead after a sledding accident Friday afternoon.
Posted: 7:07 PM Jan 3, 2010

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This lake effect snow may look pretty and it may be beckoning many to the sledding hills, but a deadly reminder has park officials warning you to use caution.

47-year-old Leo Roberts was killed on Friday when his sled ran into a tree at the bottom of a hill at Bendix Woods County Park.

He was on a sledding trip with his four daughters and some family friends.

"He was the best daddy ever," said one daughter on Sunday. "He called ups up all the time at school just to say hi."

Three of the four daughters are now in college. And so on a snowy New Years Day, Roberts got an idea.

"He was like you guys wanna go sledding at Bendix woods?"

His daughters said yes. So they headed out with Leo to Bendix Woods County Park - a place Roberts hadn't been sledding since childhood.

"He took his sled, and took a half running start and jumped on," said one of his daughters. "He was really flying down the hill."

Head-first, Roberts was heading toward an area of trees.

"I knew it was really bad, I heard him yell," said one daughter. "It sounded like he was choking almost, and then he stopped breathing."

After using CPR to get him breathing again, his daughters waited for the ambulance.

"He knew that he was bleeding, and he said, I love you girls, and that just brought us all to tears."

While his daughters rushed to the hospital, their mom Janet was already there. Janet works as an intensive care unit nurse at Memorial Hospital.

She went to him and found him losing a lot of blood. His knee was dislocated and had torn through an artery.

"He started bleeding even faster, and the more they were putting in, the more he was bleeding," said Janet.

Around midnight, 47-year-old Roberts passed away.

"We were looking forward to growing old together," said Janet. "And I think that's going to be one of the saddest is, he won't be there to walk any of them down the aisle."

Janet says a memorial fund has been set up for the daughter's college educations, which up to this point have been funded in large part by student loans. If you'd like to help you can donate to the Leo Roberts Children Education Fund at Teachers Credit Union. Money is preferred in lieu of flowers.

The family's experience is a stark reminder that wintertime fun - like sledding - can be dangerous.

Sunday we talked to a St. Joseph County Parks official who said keeping an eye on your surroundings is key.

"If there are small children and they are not out of the way, please don't start your tube until they're out of the way. We don't like to have small children especially get hit by somebody that's much, much bigger than them get hit on a fast tube," said KC Niebor of St. Joseph County Parks.

Other sledding tips, courtesy of Indy Parks and Recreation, include:

-Children should be supervised
-Encourage children to wear a bike helmet while sledding
-Dress warmly
-Don't sled near traffic, and avoid sledding near trees, telephone poles, fences or rocks
-Don't sled head first; instead, sit up or lay on your back
-Don't ride into a snow bank because there could be a rock or tree hidden inside
-Tell kids to roll off a sled that won't stop

The sledding hill at Bendix Woods is closed Monday.

The St. Joe County Parks Department says they've temporarily stopped sledding at the park while they investigate exactly what happened.

From: http://www.wndu.com/hometop/headlines/80508152.html