Young boy hurt in fall at pool
Five-year-old Mason Asherbranner of Danville is home and doing fine after being injured in a fall from the high dive at Hartselle Aquatic Center on Wednesday.
With his mother, Sarah Asherbranner, and playmates looking on, he climbed to the top of the 12-foot board and had begun to move toward the end for a jump when he fell to the pool’s concrete gutter and apron.
“I was the first person to get to him,” Mrs. Asherbranner said. “He fell on his chest and face and I feared the worst when I heard him moan. But he never lost consciousness.”
The mishap occurred at 10:40 a.m. shortly after the pool opened its gates. Mason sustained visible injuries to his face and was rushed by ambulance to Decatur Morgan Hospital.
A CT Scan and X-rays were negative, but he was airlifted to UAB Hospital as a precautionary measure because of the height of the fall.
He was diagnosed with a fractured jaw, lost a tooth, had to have 12 stitches to close facial cuts and then was released.
“The first thing he wanted to know when he awoke Thursday morning was, ‘Who saw me fall?’ and “When will I get to go back to the pool?’” Mrs. Asherbranner said.