FLORENCE, AL (WAFF) -
A six-year-old Florence girl was killed in a lawn mower accident Sunday evening.
Investigators said Colleen Persell was riding on a tractor with her mother at their home on Meadow Hill Drive, off of Robbins Ridge Road, when she fell off and was run over by the mower attachment.
She was rushed to Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital in Florence, but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Colleen was a student at Kilby Laboratory School on the campus of the University of North Alabama. Her first-grade classmates wrote notes and drew pictures to place on Colleen's desk Monday morning.
Faculty and staff are trying to keep things as normal as possible for the students. They did place a white ribbon on the front door of the school in memory of Colleen.
Josh Kimbrough sells tractors and lawn mowers at the Shoal's Tractor Supply.
He said although manufacturers make constant changes and upgrades to safety features on these machines, you can never underestimate the hazards while they're in use.
He said even the smaller rigs have the potential to spin out of control or change its course when you least expect it.
"I think they all have decals on them limiting them to one passenger or no passengers, one rider. There's never a safe time for two people to be on a lawn mower or tractor. The blades are turning at such a velocity that it can be lethal anywhere from a push mower on up to a riding mower or bush hog if you're using it with a tractor," he said.
Whether you've operated tractors and mowers all your life or you're just getting started, Kimbrough said it's important that you read all the instruction material and fully understand how to operate your machine before starting it up.
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Colleen Persell (Source: Family)
Kilby School placed a white ribbon on the door in memory of Colleen Persell.
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