9-year-old falls on needle during football practice at Boston park

ROXBURY, Mass. — A 9-year-old boy is receiving treatment after his family says he fell on a needle during football practice.

It happened on Wednesday night at Clifford Park in Roxbury.

Boston 25 News has been regularly reporting on concerns about littered needles at the park for years now.

The child’s mother told Boston 25 News that she waited in the emergency room with her son for six hours after the incident.

She said her son has been prescribed two medications he now needs to take daily for 28 days.

According to the mother, the medications are to protect her child from potential exposure to blood-borne viruses, like HIV and hepatitis.

“I gave him the dosage this morning and he starts complaining that he’s feeling sick,” said the mother, who Boston 25 News is not identifying. “He starts saying, I’m gonna throw up. I’m gonna throw up. He’s running to the bathroom, and I see him throwing up all day long.”

Boston Bengals football coach Domingos DaRosa alerted the child’s mother immediately after the boy said he was poked by the needle.

He said the child fell while running laps.

“He said, coach, I tripped. I fell, and I felt something sting me, and when I looked down I had a needle in my leg. I panicked. I got scared. I pulled the needle out and threw it,” said DaRosa. “I was heartbroken. I’m still heartbroken.”

DaRosa, who picks up needles at the park daily before practices, scoured the area for the needle in question but could not locate it on Wednesday night.

Multiple needles were found in the area the following day.

“I talked to the doctor. He told me, even if you find it, you don’t know if that’s the needle that pricked him,” explained the boy’s mother.  “It’s very painful for a mother to see a child suffer.”

DaRosa and Boston Bengals families said certain areas of the park have been especially dark at night because only three out of the 12 stadium lights work.

“It could have been any one of the kids that play here,” said Elisandro Dos Santos, father of a 12-year-old player. “How many times does someone have to get pricked before you do something about it.”

A city of Boston spokesperson sent the following statement:

“The City takes seriously any incident involving the wellbeing of a child, and is working to ensure that Clifford Park is a safe and pleasant space for all to enjoy.”

Just this past August, a Suffolk County Detective stepped on a needle at Clifford Park during a volunteer cleanup.

The ongoing situation is a spillover from the crisis that’s unfolding at nearby Mass Ave and Melnea Cass.

Police do walk-throughs of the park daily, and the city says its “mobile sharps teams” sweeps Clifford park twice a day.

DaRosa said what’s being done is clearly not enough to protect those who use the park.

“The stuff we have to witness day in and day out takes a toll on us as a program,” he added. “Going into our last three weeks, we may not have a team because of this incident.”

The Boston City Council is set to hold a public hearing on Friday morning at 10 a.m. to address the safety conditions and cleanliness at Clifford Park.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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