Fundraiser started for Cary-area boy severely injured in lawn mower accident

Friends of a Cary-area family whose 3-year-old son was severely injured in a lawn mower accident have started a GoFundMe account to help cover medical expenses and other bills during his treatment.

“Over Labor Day weekend, the Liggett family’s sweet and spirited son, Cohen, was involved in a traumatic lawn mower accident,” according to the post, Support Liggett Family After Tragic Accident. The crowdsourcing site page was started by Katie Shaykin.

She lives near the Liggett family, and their children are in school together, Shaykin said, adding that she was in contact with the family over the weekend.

According to the Cary Fire Protection District spokesperson Alex Vucha, rescuers were called at 12:41 p.m. Saturday to the 28700 block of West Kristy Lane near Cary. Paramedics found a young child who they determined “had been run over by an industrial-style lawn mower,” Vucha wrote in a news release.

The child was flown from Mercyhealth Crystal Lake Hospital to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Vucha said in the release.

The Liggett family is staying at the Ronald McDonald House near a Chicago hospital. According to the GoFundMe page, donations for the family will go toward medical expenses and ongoing treatment for Cohen, living expenses for the family, including meals, transportation and temporary housing, and “giving the Liggett family the space to focus on what matter most: being together and healing.”

The fundraiser was started on Monday morning. By Tuesday afternoon, more than $44,000 had been raised.

The Liggett family has another child, Reed, who has had several surgeries in the past year for a colon-related congenital condition, according to the post. That child was also recently diagnosed with a rare condition that causes severe food and environmental allergies.

“Thank you for standing with the Liggetts in prayer, love, and support during this incredibly difficult time,” Shaykin wrote.