A tragic incident unfolded at an LA Fitness gym in Kent, Washington, when a mother of four, Delrie Rosario, died after a fall from a treadmill.
The 36-year-old, who was accustomed to working out daily with her sister, Marissa Woods, fell and hit her head during their routine session, KIRO-7 News reported.
According to Woods, "She tried to slow the machine down. I thought maybe she just missed a step. She just collapsed, [and] hit her head on the machine."
In the ensuing chaos, Woods called for help, desperately asking for anyone who knew CPR. While other gym-goers rushed to assist, Woods noted that "not one worker" intervened, suggesting they were in shock.
Tragically, Rosario never regained consciousness after the incident and later succumbed to her injuries at a local hospital.
However, her story doesn't end there. An organ donor, Rosario ended up saving five lives, according to her sister. "Five people, literally like right now! [She’s] saving lives. How big can your heart be to still be saving lives?" Woods pondered, adding, "Just think, somebody’s walking around…with her big heart. They don’t even know what heart they’re about to get."
Known for her tireless work ethic, Rosario worked two jobs to support her children, Delaino, Rickey, Ric’Kae, and Delaiah. "[She was] a mother first. Always everything she did was for kids. She worked so hard for kids," stated Woods. In her honor, Rosario’s co-workers started a GoFundMe campaign to support her children, describing her as "an Angel walking amongst us here on earth."
Woods referred to her sister’s fall and subsequent death as a "bizarre accident." While fatalities from treadmill accidents are uncommon, injuries are not. A 2019 report from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, noted that around 400,000 Americans are treated annually for exercise equipment-related injuries.
Treadmills, in particular, lead in home exercise-related injuries, causing nearly 16,000 emergency room visits in 2020 alone. Harley Pasternak, a trainer, advised People, "Anytime you go to a gym, make sure that you either have somebody else with you or you tell someone where you’re going. This doesn’t only happen with treadmills but all forms of exercise – and often there’s no one around to help."