Girl Nearly Choked To Death In Playground Accident
Residents of the Federal Way apartment complex where Tanayia Blanchard lives found her unconscious hanging from a rope.
Tanayia was playing by herself on a playground Sunday morning at the Laurelwood Garden Apartment Complex. Some time later, a neighbor spotted the little girl hanging from a rope.
Police don't believe foul play nor something like "the choking game" were involved.
"Based on the preliminary investigation we believe it was accidental," said Commander Andy Hwang. "Exactly how she got this rope around her neck and how it strangled her it's not precisely clear."
The girl was found on a popular part of the playground where you hang on to a bar, push off, and then slide to the other side of the playground, sort of like a zip-line.
Residents said that a rope is sometimes attached for kids who can't reach the bar. That's what the 11-year-old was hanging on to when the rope apparently twirled around and choked her.
The girl was unconscious when medics arrived, but they were able to revive the girl.
She was rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and later transferred to Children's Hospital where her condition is not known.