Peyton Townsend was playing in a church graveyard, running around with a few other kids. Â She happened to be playing near a 1,200 pound tombstone, when tragedy struck. Sadly, the heavy tombstone fell on her and crushed her body. Â Hit the jump for details.
Steph Bassanini
A four-year-old girl has been crushed to death by a falling tombstone while playing in a church graveyard.
Peyton Townsend, from Deep Gap, North Carolina, suffered severe head injuries just minutes before a vacation Bible school study at Mount Paran Church on Friday.
Several children had been running around in the backyard of the church, which doubles as a cemetery, at about 6.20pm, according to pastor Rick Cornejo.
Mr Cornejo said the child was standing on one of about two dozen tombstones when a five-foot stone cross, estimated to weight more than 1,200 pounds, fell on top of her, crushing her.
‘It’s a freak accident,’ Josh Ruppard, who lives next door to the church, told WSOCTV.
‘Something like this could happen to anyone’s kid.’
Mr Cornejo said his brother-in-law and 16-year-old grandson were able to move the child from under the stone slab.
She was then airlifted to Johnson City Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.
Peyton’s parents Randall and Sarah Townsend were with her through the ordeal.
Ms Townsend’s Facebook page has been flooded with supportive comments from family and friends, most of which were offers of prayers.
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