18-month-old crushed at chiropractor’s office

Published 4:21 pm Friday, June 10, 2011

SHOREVIEW, Minn. (AP) — Authorities say a toddler was crushed to death at a chiropractor’s office while his mother was strapped to a table and screamed for help.

The mother and 18-month-old were at First Chiropractic in the St. Paul suburb of Shoreview Thursday afternoon. Ramsey County sheriff’s spokesman Randy Gustafson says the staff had left them unattended when the boy crawled under the therapy table to which his mother was strapped. The boy then accidentally pushed a button that brought the electric table down on him.

Amy Elizabeth Newton, of Moundsview, screamed to summon help. Clinic employees rushed to the room, raised the table and began CPR on the boy, but he died later of head trauma.

Sheriff Matt Bostrom says the incident was a tragic accident and does not expect criminal charges.