The three-year-old girl who fell into a grease pit and drowned in a horrifying accident on a family ice cream trip has been identified.
Sadie Grace Andrews, the third-youngest of six siblings, was a ‘little blonde bundle of joy’ with an ‘infectious smile’ who was outgoing and full of faith in God, her mother said on Sunday.
Sadie was playing with two of her siblings when she fell through a lid covering a six-foot deep trap for cooking grease outside of Bruster’s Real Ice Cream in Auburn, Alabama on Saturday, police who reviewed video of the incident said.
‘She would light up a room with her smile; she walked with a skip in her step. I’ve never met a more joyful child who loved God with all her heart,’ grieving mother Corrie Andrews told AL.com.
Sadie is seen left standing second from the left with her five siblings and parents Corrie and Tracy Andrews. Sadie and her uncle Chad Vermillion are seen right
The family was in the outdoor area of Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, where there are picnic tables, when Sadie fell through the lid of the below-ground tank in a nearby grassy area
‘She taught me about being happy and loving life and loving people,’ Sadie’s father Tracy Andrews told the outlet.
‘At 3 years old, there’s no preconceived notions. To her, everybody was good. She didn’t see the bad. She just loved people and it didn’t matter what they did.’
Sadie’s parents said that she loved riding her bike, playing outside with her siblings, and hiking with the family at nearby Chewacla State Park.
Police do not suspect foul play in Sadie’s death, which occurred in the early afternoon on Saturday, according to WRBL.
The family was in the outdoor area of Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, where there are picnic tables.
The children were playing on the grass when investigators say Sadie stepped on the unsecured lid of the below-ground grease trap and fell through.
When police arrived on the scene, CPR was being administered, and the girl was rushed to the hospital, but all attempts to revive her were unsuccessful
Sadie (front row center) was the third-oldest of six siblings. ‘I’ve never met a more joyful child who loved God with all her heart,’ her mother said
Sadie’s family says that the lid was wooden and had rotted through.
She was initially reported as a missing person, and family searched the area frantically before finding her body in the grease trap.
When police arrived on the scene, CPR was being administered, and the girl was rushed to the hospital, but all attempts to revive her were unsuccessful.
In a statement, the owners of the Bruster’s Ice Cream location expressed condolences to the Andrews family.
‘They are acquaintances of ours and have been regular customers. We are truly heartbroken that this happened,’ said owners Lance and Kara Latham.
A 3-year-old girl was pronounced dead at a hospital after she fell into a 6-foot-deep grease pit at Bruster’s Real Ice Cream in Auburn, Alabama and drowned
In a statement, the owners of the Bruster’s Ice Cream location expressed condolences
The Lathams said that a young employee of the shop had attempted to revive Sadie and was ‘quite shaken’ by the incident.
‘We continue to help local authorities investigate what caused this incredibly sad accident,’ the owners said.
Sadie’s uncle Chad Vermillion said on a YouCaring campaign to raise money for funeral expenses that the family planned to go to church on Sunday ‘to keep life somewhat normal’.
Vermillion said that on the morning she died, Sadie had put her cherished blankie in a bag and told her mother that she wanted to give it as a present to someone else, adding that she didn’t need it because she was a big girl now.