Aleim Perkins and his 6-year-old niece had only planned on having a fun day at playground in New York City.
Their day together at Tompkins Square Park ended in complete tragedy Monday afternoon when the Perkins, 39, pushed a tire swing.
The tire came flying back at him, smashed into his face and killed him.
According to witnesses, Perkins had been pushing the 25-pound tire swing “aggressively.” A 12-year-old at the playground said that when Perkins “crouched to get out of the way … it was going too fast. It hit him on the left cheek. He just plopped down.”
“The guy got his fillings knocked out,” said Ori Carlino, 32, a local that tried to help Perkins.
The impact of the tire was enough to leave Perkins unconscious on the ground and bleeding from the mouth.
The park’s playground has two tire swings chained down from a yellow metal frame. The playground also had protective padding underneath. The playground’s structure was made by Landscape Structures.
A company spokeswoman said the following in a statement:
“Our condolences go out to the loved ones impacted by Monday’s incident at Tompkins Square Park. At this time, Landscape Structures is working with the city to gather information regarding details of the incident.”
Photo: DNAinfo/Lisha Arino
