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Girl jabbed by hypodermic needle

Sunday, June 03, 2007

(Staten Island - WABC, June 3, 2007) (WABC) -- For the second time in a week, a beachgoer on Staten Island has been pricked by a hypodermic needle in the sand.

The latest victim was a 7-year-old little girl building a sand castle on South Beach.

Eyewitness News reporter Jeff Rossen has the story.

Seven-year-old Sayyidah is back to the coloring books Sunday night after a weekend scare on the beach.

Her little thumb pricked by the large hypodermic needle, a needle hidden in the sand on Staten Island South Beach.

"I was playing with my buckets, scooping up sand and making sand castles," said Sayyidah. "I put my thumb down and I felt a point."

Her family rushed her to the hospital. After all, who knew what was in the needle. It is filled with what appears to be dried blood. Doctors gave the all-clear saying the needle was too old to carry any pathogens.

"We don't know who had the needle, what kind of person had the needle," said the victim's grandmother, Josephine Worrell. "Yeah, I thank god."

This is the second needle scare in the past week on Staten Island. A woman was stuck with a hypodermic needle on Midland Beach when she rolled on top of it.

"I would hate to see this happen, again," said Filomena Rago who was stuck by a needle. "What if it is contaminated, what if there is any type of disease on it or bacteria."

And it did happen again just days later from the day Filomena Rago was stuck.

What is going on at Staten Island beaches? The New York City Parks Department told Eyewitness News, "this is a very unusual occurrence and we haven't had any reports of this type in a few years. The safety of all beachgoers and out lifeguards is our highest priority."

"Patrol the beaches more to see if there are people out there with the needles," said Josephine Worrell.

The city offered this advice. If you find a needle on the beach, immediately find a park worker or call 311 for help.

The Park Department said if you have a needle make sure to dispose of it properly. If you throw it down a drain, it could end up on one of the local beaches.

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