Dangers of snow piles

BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — Enormous mounds of all that lake impact snow that fell within the south cities are being delivered to the Erie Neighborhood South Campus in Orchard Park.

WKBW

Snow is being piled up at ECC South in Orchard Park.

That’s the place I caught up with Erie County Sheriff John Garcia who’s cautioning everybody to be further cautious with giant snow piles alongside driveways and parking heaps.

But in addition warning mother and father and youngsters to not dig snow tunnels.

“Please watch out. Should you see your youngsters digging tunnels please get on the market and allow them to know not to take action,” warned Sheriff Garcia.

It can be very tempting for youths and teenagers to leap into snow piles.

“Oh my God — and also you by no means know what’s beneath these snow piles,” declared Sheriff Garcia.

That is precisely what occurred to Andrew Mangan, 22, of Derby.

In December 2016, he determined to leap into a big pile of snow.

ANDREW MANGAN.jpg — Andrew Mangan, 22, of Derby, in Zoom interview.

“I dove into what I assumed was powder and finally hit one thing beneath — whether or not that was onerous pack snow or ice — by no means actually figured it out and that induced my C5 vertebrae to interrupt and resulted in a spinal cord injury,” recalled Mangan.

andrew high school.jpeg — Andrew Mangan.

I took this picture of Andrew after I meet him a number of years in the past whereas he was attending Canisius Excessive College.

He was initially paralyzed from his shoulders down however continues to recuperate.

ANDREW IN HOSPITAL.jpg — Andrew Mangan after his injury in hospital.

“Nearly all of cervical accidents, spinal cord accidents come from diving, whether or not that is diving into snow — I do know one other boy or gentleman who obtained harm in Hamburg truly extra lately than me from just about the identical set of occasions that I obtained harm,” defined Mangan.

Mangan is now in his senior yr at Stanford College in California the place he is on the U.S. Para Group for rowing.

Each Mangan and the county sheriff say irrespective of how tempting and enjoyable it would look to leap right into a pile of snow, rethink the choice.

“It is normally not what it appears to be like like underneath the floor. Even when it is your yard that you just’re tremendous accustomed to when there’s 4 ft of snow — you might not likely know the place the furnishings is or the place issues use to be,” Mangan famous.

“Please youngsters — keep off these snow piles — we do not know what’s beneath,” Sheriff Garcia commented.