Watch: Good Samaritans, police help great-grandmother, child trapped under car in Tampa parking lot
TAMPA, Fla. - An 80-year-old woman and her great-granddaughter were returning from a grocery store when a driver backed out of a parking spot in a Tampa apartment complex and reversed over them, police said. With the help of neighbors, a hydraulic jack, and first responders, they were pulled from underneath the vehicle. It was all captured on body camera.
It all happened Sunday, shortly after 1:30 p.m. at the Arbor Ponds Apartment Complex located at 2901 North Dale Mabry Highway. When officers arrived, the great-grandmother and the 3-year-old girl were pinned beneath a 2006 Toyota Corolla.
According to police, the 23-year-old driver told them he was backing out of the vehicle and didn't see the elderly woman pushing her great-grandchild in a stroller.
Body camera: Great-grandma, child rescued after driver reverses over them
In Tampa, when an 80-year-old woman and her great-granddaughter were struck by a car, they were trapped underneath. Neighbors and an officer teamed up to carefully remove them from underneath the vehicle. DISCLAIMER: Some may find the footage to be disturbing. Tampa police blurred the faces of the good Samaritans and victims. The rest of the video remains unedited.
"The driver said he felt a bump, but assumed it was a large storm drain located behind his car and attempted to pull forward," according to a news release from the police department. "When the vehicle did not move, he became aware that he had struck someone."
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When the officer arrives, he tries to speak to the elderly woman, but heard no response. When they began pulling the stroller, the child started crying.
A group of people living at Arbor Ponds used a hydraulic jack to raise the car slightly from the ground, allowing one of the officers to free the great-grandmother and child.
"Baby girl, come here," one of the first responders was heard saying. A knife was used to break the stroller straps.
"Both are breathing," the officer stated.
The woman and child were taken to a nearby hospital. The 80-year-old woman is in critical condition as of Tuesday morning, while the child is expected to be OK.
Investigators said impairment is not believed to be a factor in the crash. Police said the driver remained at the scene and cooperated with the investigation.
Charges are not expected.