A startling surveillance video posted to YouTube shows two adults at a laundromat sticking a toddler in a front-loading washer, possibly as a prank.
But the joke took a frightening turn when the washer's door automatically locked and it began running with the child trapped inside.
Photo Gallery: Child locked in laundromat washing machine
The video, which is timestamped May 11 2012, then shows the man and woman frantically trying to open the washing machine's door as water fills inside and the child begins tumbling around. With help from others inside the laundromat, they're able to disable the washer and eventually get the child out.
The video seems genuine, although there is no attribution as to where it originated from. The YouTube description only says the child suffered minor injuries and is safe.
Whether or not the video is authentic, it provides a cautionary example to never place a child or pet inside washers and dryers as jokes -- especially when front loaders typically lock their doors when the cycle begins.
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