Kenosha boy, 6, in coma after freak lawnmower accident strikes head with rebar

KENOSHA, Wis. (WLS) -- A 6-year-old boy from Kenosha is in a medically induced coma after a freak accident with a lawnmower left him in a medically induced coma.

"He swelled up yesterday and it looks like today he swelled up more. To be honest it doesn't even look like my nephew that's how truly horrific this is," said his aunt Michelle Koertgen.

Alex Hook is like many other boys his age. He loves dinosaurs, trucks, and boats, his family said. He also loves hanging out with his brother Nathan.

He was out at recess in a fenced-in playground at River View Elementary on Friday. His family said someone was mowing grass on county property beyond the playground fence when a piece of rebar flew out from the lawnmower and struck him in the head while he was playing.

His family is still in disbelief.

"It went through the chain link fence," Koertgen said. "And he happened to be bending down. Had he been standing up, maybe nothing more than a broken leg had occurred."

Half of Alex's skull has been removed due to brain swelling, and he has a fever, his family said. They are glad for an outpouring of support, but have questions about why someone from the county was mowing outside school grounds during playtime for the children.

"Why are you mowing the grass when children are around?" his aunt wondered. "School is what, 9 a.m. to 3? You can't do it before or when they are not at recess?"

The family has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for medical expenses.