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Tampa officer, good Samaritans help rescue grandmother, child from beneath car

The woman and her 3-year-old great-granddaughter were pinned under a car.

TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa police and several good Samaritans sprang into action to rescue a woman and her great-grandchild after they were pinned under a car Sunday afternoon at a Tampa apartment complex, the Tampa Police Department said in a release. 

It happened in the parking lot of the Arbor Ponds Apartment Complex on 2901 N Dale Mabry Highway. 

Police said when Corporal Lance Baker arrived at the scene, he found an 80-year-old woman and her 3-year-old great-granddaughter trapped under a Toyota Corolla. 

The 23-year-old driver of the car told police he didn't see the woman pushing the child in a stroller as the pair were coming back from a trip to the grocery store and hit them as he was backing out. 

As he was backing out, he backed his car over both of them. But he told officers he that while he felt a bump, he assumed it was a large storm drain located behind his car and tried to pull forward. 

When he couldn't move his car, he said he realized he had hit someone. 

Several neighbors quickly took action to help before first responders arrived, using a hydraulic jack to raise the car up slightly from the ground, the release stated. 

Baker's body camera captured the dramatic rescue as he and others worked to pull the woman and child to safety. You can see Baker pull grocery items out from between the woman and the car, allowing her to breathe, police said. 

He worked with firefighters to cut the child from the stroller, supporting her head before they took her to be checked out. 

Eventually, both the woman and child were pulled out safely from under the car. 

"The young man that had the presence of mind to get his floor jack and lift that car – I sincerely believe that without him taking those actions, I don’t think the grandmother would have lived long enough for me to even get there to help her the rest of the way," Baker said at a news conference. "That was vitally important."

"It was just a huge team effort," the corporal added.

‼️𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇‼️ Had it not been for the quick actions of Cpl. Baker, good Samaritans and Tampa Fire Rescue firefighters, a grandmother and a young child may not have made it out of this accident alive! Body-worn camera captured the rescue on Sunday, December 18, as #YourTampaPD responded to a pedestrian-involved car accident in the parking lot of the Arbor Ponds Apartment Complex at 📍2901 N Dale Mabry Highway. An 80-year-old woman and her 3-year-old great-granddaughter were pinned beneath a car. The driver struck the victims as he was backing out of a parking spot. He said he did not see the woman pushing the child in a stroller as they returned from the grocery store and accidentally backed his vehicle over both victims. After feeling a bump, the driver said he assumed it was a large storm drain and attempted to pull forward. When the vehicle did not move, he became aware that he had struck someone. With the help of neighbors, who used a hydraulic jack to raise the car from the ground before first responders arrived, Cpl. Baker was able to pull grocery items out from between the woman and the car, allowing her to breathe. He worked with firefighters to cut the child out of her stroller, and ultimately, pull both victims to safety. “𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘱𝘭. 𝘉𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦,” 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗮𝘄. “𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺.”

Posted by Tampa Police Department on Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Both were rushed to the hospital. The great-grandmother is reportedly in critical condition and the 3-year-old is "stable," according to police.  

Police said investigators don't believe impairment was a factor in the crash and noted the driver remained at the scene and cooperated with officers. Charges are not expected at this time, the release stated. 

"We are proud of Cpl. Baker's quick actions and calmness under pressure while helping this family. This is a shining example of the work Tampa Police officers do every day to protect and serve their community, not knowing if they'll be called upon to save a life or put their own life on the line at any given call for service," said Interim Chief of Police Lee Bercaw. "We are thankful for the good Samaritans and Tampa firefighters who also jumped into action to help make sure this grandmother and young child will get a chance to see another Christmas this week with their family."

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