Stick impales 8-year-old girl near Hau'ula Beach

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

An 8-year-old girl was undergoing emergency surgery at The Queen's Medical Center last night after being impaled on a stick near Hau'ula Beach Park on Windward O'ahu.

Emergency Medical Services district supervisor Mandy Shiraki said the girl was playing with other children yesterday afternoon when she rolled down a hill and onto a stick, which penetrated her armpit and pierced her lung.

Bystanders called 911, Shiraki said, and the dispatcher instructed them not to try to remove the stick.

Paramedics immobilized the girl and the stick, and a military helicopter flew her to Queen's, where she was in critical condition.

Medical efforts to remove the stick continued last night.