Mom upset after daughter's hair is caught in Chuck E. Cheese machine

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (WJBK) - A little girl's hair ripped out after it became caught in a ticket machine at Chuck-E-Cheese's in Sterling Heights.

Now her mom is fighting to make sure this doesn't happen to another child - after what was supposed to be an afternoon of fun.

Three-year-old Abigail was attending a party Saturday at the Sterling Heights location. Abigail and her mom went to a ticket muncher machine and when the toddler bent down to grab some tickets - her hair was caught.

"The ticket muncher caught a piece of her hair and sucked her hair in," said her mom, Michaelena Dodge. "Her head was (pulled into) the machine."

Dodge says she looked for a switch to turn the machine off, but couldn't find one. So the mom of three says she did the next best thing.

"I grabbed her and her ponytail and pulled as hard as I could, to get her out," Dodge said. "She came out; she was screaming and peed in her pants."

Abigail's mom says she immediately notified the manager.

"He said I'll go get her an ice cream, so I was kind of offended because an ice cream is not going to make her feel better," Dodge said.

But the mom says when she told the manger that the machine pulled out some of her child's hair - “He gave us a voucher for 1,000 tickets," she said.

Dodge says she took Abigail to the hospital and on Monday contacted the restaurant's corporate offices.

"They called back and the lady told me stuff like this happens when people don't watch their kids," she said.

In a statement, Chuck E. Cheese's told FOX 2:

"We're aware of an incident in which a child sustained a minor scalp injury as she was feeding tickets into the Ticket Muncher. The store manager acted quickly to make sure the child was okay and we've since been in contact with her mother and offered to assist with any medical bills. We want to assure parents and caregivers that maintaining a safe experience for our guests is a primary concern for us."

But Abigail's mom says kids go to this restaurant to have a good time and not get hurt. That's why she believes more needs to be done to ensure the safety of kids who play at Chuck E. Cheese's.

"I told her I want there to be a stop button, an emergency stop, something to turn the machine off and she said I'll let the manufacturer know about your safety concerns," she said, adding that she is looking into legal action. "I'll never be back to Chuck E Cheese. Ever."