Girl, 12, falls through grate, trapped in hole during gym class in Plainfield

PLAINFIELD, Ill. (WLS) -- A 12-year-old girl who fell through a grate and became trapped in a 10-foot hole in southwest suburban Plainfield is going to be OK, officials said.

The girl was playing catch during a gym class at Ira Jones Middle School when she fell through a grate on top of a storm drain, located near a retention pond.

"She caught the ball, but as she was throwing it, she tripped," Mekenzie Smith, 7th grader, said.

"All of a sudden, you just see someone fall. And her arms flail in the air for a second. And no one really knew what was happening," Lily Summers, P.E. student, said.

The girl was trapped inside the hole, which had about two and a-half-feet of water inside.

"No one knew if she would survive because no one knew how deep the water was. And she's actually afraid of the water. So we were all really scared for her," Smith said.

"I was crying. Everyone was crying. It was in a moment, you didn't know what was going to happen, so you were just freaking out," Sydney Cangilla, P.E. student, said.

Emergency crews were called to the scene, and were able to rescue the girl in about 25 minutes. She was taken to a local hospital to be checked out. She may have a hand injury, but is expected to be OK, according to Plainfield Deputy Chief John Stratton.

Stratton said the girl did not panic, and crews are now checking all the other grates around the retention pond.

"We take student safety first and foremost, and we're going to do everything in our power to make sure this doesn't happen again," Superintendent Lane Abrell, Plainfield Community Consolidated District 202, said.