A 2-year-old girl visiting her great-grandparents’ home in Eudora Saturday morning was sent to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., after her mother accidentally backed over her foot with a lawn mower.

The girl’s mother had been using a riding lawn mower when her daughter ran up behind the mower unexpectedly, Eudora Police Sgt. Greg Neis said.

He said the mother believed her daughter was across the yard playing when she put the lawn mower in reverse to avoid driving over gravel.

“It was just an accident,” he said. “It was one of those things where you needed eyes in the back of your head.”

The girl suffered severe foot injuries, said Battalion Chief Jerry Karr from Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical. An air ambulance transported her to Children’s Mercy, Karr said.

Neis said Eudora Police Chief Greg Dahlem would release the girl’s name Monday.