Teenager suffers skull fracture in inflatable sled crash
This is not the first such incident.
A children«s pastime in Vladivostok nearly left 13-year-old Fyodor disabled. The teenager was riding an inflatable sled down a homemade ramp but couldn»t control the skid and crashed into a concrete wall at full speed. He was taken in serious condition to Tysekochechnaya Hospital, the medical facility«s press service reported.
The schoolboy was diagnosed with multiple injuries: a brain contusion with areas of damage in the temporal lobe, skull fractures, traumatic hemorrhage, bleeding from the ear, blunt chest trauma, and a shoulder injury.
The next day, doctors noticed that the corner of Fyodor«s mouth had drooped and his right eye would not close. It turned out that the brain injury had caused partial facial nerve paralysis.
The boy himself does not really remember how he got injured. According to him, he got into the inflatable sled, started rolling, and then—darkness. Fortunately, there were eyewitnesses nearby who said that Fyodor lost consciousness for 10 minutes.
Fyodor«s condition has now stabilized, but he faces a long recovery, and doctors urged parents to explain to children that using inflatable sleds in unauthorized places can ruin childhood and jeopardize their entire future life.
«Inflatable sleds must be used correctly: ride alone, sitting, holding onto the handles, without touching the ground with your feet. When two people are on a sled—someone can fly out. You should take turns and ride on organized tracks where there is a person who checks them,» said Vadim Oleinik, a neurosurgeon at VKB Hospital No. 2.
The Investigative Committee has also intervened in the situation. The agency opened a criminal case on charges of negligence (Article 239 of the Russian Criminal Code). Investigators are identifying officials of local government bodies and other organizations whose duties include ensuring safety in the adjacent territory. A separate inspection will be carried out by the prosecutor«s office.
On 2 January 2026, parents of young patients at the regional children«s hospital No. 2 in Vladivostok complained about extremely low temperatures in the wards. According to the adults, at the hospital located at Primorskaya Street, 6, children with pneumonia and bronchitis are lying in conditions close to outdoor ones.
