Girl Trapped In Escalator At Brea Mall

BREA, CA — Spring break shopping turned into one grandparent's nightmare at the Brea Mall on Tuesday.

A 5-year-old girl's hand got stuck in an escalator at the Mall, but the tot escaped serious injury, according to reports. Firefighters were called to the Sears store at the mall at just before 11:15 a.m., said Brea Fire Division Chief Kathy Schaefer.

The girl was at the store with her grandfather when she got her hand stuck in the escalator, which triggered the machine to automatically stop, Schaefer said.

She said firefighters used the Jaws of Life and a reciprocating saw to cut apart the escalator to free the girl, whose name was not released.

The rescue operation took about a half-hour, Schaefer said.

Paramedics took the youngster to Children's Hospital Orange County to have her hand examined, Schaefer said.