Owner of Daycare Speaks Out About Tragic Accident
​Posted: Oct 30, 2012 10:38 PM EST
Updated: Jan 16, 2015 6:59 AM EDT
Community continues to rally behind Tripp Halstead
WINDER, GA (CBS46) -
Two-year-old Tripp Halstead is still fighting for his life after a falling tree limb hit him in the head on Monday while he played at his daycare in Winder.
Tripp was knocked unconscious and has been in and out of surgery ever since.
Tripp's family said his condition is up and down; he still has a lot of swelling on his brain and the next five days are crucial to his recovery.
Meanwhile, Connie Wilbanks, the owner of the daycare center, is struggling to get back to work after the tragic accident.
Wilbanks said Tripp was out playing at Cribs to Crayons for just a few minutes when a huge gust of wind came out of nowhere.
While Wilbanks said she was inside when the accident happened, other employees saw the whole thing.
"(The employee) heard the tree crack. Then she saw the tree falling and she tried to run to it, but she couldn't get there in time," Wilbanks said. "It all happened so fast."
Wilbanks said she ran outside and what she experienced next was something she hopes no one has to experience.
"I lost my dad and I thought that was worst thing, but to see a baby... it was bad. Really bad," Wilbanks said.
But Wilbanks said it could have been a lot worse if not for a miracle.
The miracle she talked about was an extra bar that was added to a nearby fence just days before. The bar, which was installed about half way up the fence, is a little bit higher than the height of a small child.
"I think it was meant to be for that bar to be installed there," Wilbanks said. "It caught that huge limb. If not, I think it would have been much worse."
Now the focus is finding another miracle; one that will bring a special little boy back to normal.
For updates on Tripp, check out the Facebook page that his family created.
Copyright 2012 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
