Liz Burke, WPRO News

A teenage girl has died in a tragic sledding incident.

Providence Police were called to Neutaconkanut Park on Wednesday evening at 4:40 for a report of a girl injured while sledding. 17-year old Providence resident Alexandria Alvarez was transported to Rhode Island Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

“We determined that she had gone off the course while sledding and hit a small tree and as a result caused some internal damage that resulted in her death,” said Providence Police Commissioner Steven Pare.

An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday at the Rhode Island Medical Examiner’s Office.

“It’s a sad situation, a young girl doing what all young kids do, playing out in the winter snow and sledding and having this tragic accident is just both unfortunate and is untimely and it just shouldn’t happen to our children,” said Pare

Commissioner Pare says he thinks more safety precautions and gear should be used when sledding just like you would use in any other winter sport.

“We ski as a country with our helmets on. What we should consider when you’re sledding is, you can gain some speed and become out of control. So we should be protecting our heads. I would advice to wear a helmet and to wear as much protective gear as possible,” said Pare.

Officials say the park has been closed to sledding at this time. The City is installing snow fences at the top and bottom of the slope and a Park Ranger is being assigned to the park to prevent people from sledding.