By Tony Marquis, Standard Staff
A 16-year-old student-athlete on the Woodstock Union High School track team was treated by Woodstock Ambulance after his leg was pierced during a javelin accident Wednesday afternoon, according to Woodstock police.
The student had a javelin sticking out through his left thigh, but appeared to be in stable condition as ambulance personnel used tube cutters to trim the top and bottom of the hollow metal spear. He was then placed on a stretcher and taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
On Thursday, a relative who declined to be interviewed, said the student was “OK” and will make a “complete recovery.”
Woodstock Police Sergeant Joe Swanson talks to a 16-year-old Woodstock Union High School student while ambulance and school personnel look for a tool to cut the ends of a javelin, which was stuck in the student’s leg. (Tony Marquis Photo)
How the javelin got stuck in the student’s leg is unknown — coaches and school officials would not say how the accident happened. The incident is still under investigation, according to Woodstock Police Chief Robbie Blish.
A fellow student said the injured student, who is on the track team, apparently tripped and fell on the javelin, though he didn’t witness the accident. There weren’t any other witnesses to the accident but some track coaches, according to the fellow student.
Track coach Greg Somerville was asked about the incident by the Vermont Standard, but attempts to figure out how the javelin became stuck in the student’s leg were interrupted by Woodstock Union High School Principal Garon Smail, who suggested coaches and administrators meet privately before offering any comments.
Somerville was asked about practice schedules, but Smail interrupted again. Before Smail instructed Somerville and Athletic Director Justin Wardwell not to speak to the press, Wardwell was asked if safety precautions are taken when the track team practices the javelin. He said he was “not quite sure” but Somerville might know.
The practice area is a large open section behind the school’s soccer field on the southeast corner of the campus.
Smail did not offer any comments on the incident. He later told the Standard that the injured student is a “great kid.”