PHOTO: Policemen, Bystanders Lift A Car Off Pinned Mother And Baby

photo

A mother carrying a toddler across a busy Aurora street was hit by a car that pinned her and her child beneath it on Monday night.

An off-duty police sergeant, an on-duty officer and several good Samaritans helped lift the white Kia Rio up and the sergeant pulled the mother and her 2-year-old daughter free, said Aurora Police spokesman Lt. Chuck DeShazer. The collision happened about 6:25 p.m. as the family of four crossed three lanes of traffic at 14200 E. Exposition Ave., where there is no crosswalk or pedestrian signal, DeShazer said.

The mother was clutching the toddler and was followed by her 4-year-old twin sons. The man driving the Kia was traveling eastbound on Exposition at 30 mph – less than the posted 35 mph speed limit. But he didn’t see the family in time to stop, DeShazer said.

DeShazer said the off-duty sergeant, who was working security at a nearby Walmart, and several bystanders jumped in to help. An on-duty officer soon joined them. “There is a female laying on top of a baby underneath a vehicle,” a dispatcher radioed to fire crews responding to the scene. Several fire trucks and police cruisers rushed to the trapped victims. About 3 minutes after the mother and toddler were pinned, an officer radioed the good news.

“We just lifted the car off her. I’m not sure what her status is yet,” the officer said of the mother. DeShazer said the mother had serious head injuries and possible internal injuries. The toddler had lacerations to her head and legs, but she will survive, he added. One of the twin boys had a bump on his head. The other wasn’t hurt.

The mother was taken to Aurora Medical Center South, while the toddler was taken to Children’s Hospital, DeShazer said. The twin boys were also taken to Children’s as a precaution.

DeShazer said the driver immediately stopped and helped. The driver won’t be charged, because he was not in the wrong, DeShazer added. While the woman improperly took her children across the street, DeShazer said she will not be cited because she’s “suffered enough.”

The good Samaritans left as quickly as they arrived. DeShazer asked those bystanders who helped free the mother and toddler to call the Police Department, so investigators can get information from them — and thank them.

“We’ve got great people who live here and work in the city of Aurora,” DeShazer said. “These guys are so selfless that once the scene was secure, they left the scene and did not leave their names…. I talked to two of the officers involved and they couldn’t even tell me how many helped them, because it was so chaotic.”

Source: ABC News