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Bystanders Free Child from Underneath Van in St. Petersburg

 November 29, 2010 - St. Petersburg, FL - A 5-year-old girl is recovering at All Children's Hospital with non-fatal injuries thanks to the quick actions of some helpful bystanders.

WTSP 10News reports that the bicycle accident took place around 1 p.m. on November 22 during the lunch rush at Coney Island Grill. The young girl was riding her bike on the sidewalk near the popular restaurant when a van pulled out of the parking lot, which is located along Martin Luther King Junior Street North. William Sabo, 64, was driving the van and said he never saw the girl coming.

Luck was on her side as Glenn Phillippi, an off-duty Pasco County EMT who also works at St. Anthony's Hospital, was inside the eatery having lunch. A witness ran inside asking for help, saying a little girl was pinned under a van. The girl's upper leg was trapped under the wheel of the car and Phillippi and several other customers lifted the vehicle so she could be removed from underneath. Phillippi urged bystanders to lift the van instead of putting it into drive.

The girl was rushed to the Bayfront Medical Center and then transferred to All Children's Hospital where she was reported to be doing much better and escaped serious injury.

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles' 2009 Traffic Crash Statistics Report, there were 197,214 traffic crashes resulting in injury and 2,563 fatalities as a result of vehicle accidents in Florida.

As a service to the residents of St. Petersburg, our firm will frequently publish blogs about local traffic accidents. We do this to raise awareness about the common types of motor vehicle accidents that occur in Florida that may result in serious injury or traffic fatalities.

Common accidents include, but are not limited to: 

• single-car accidents;
• hit-and-run accidents;
• accidents caused by hazardous road conditions; and
• accidents caused by aggressive driving or distracted drivers. 

If you have been named in this blog or you are the victim's family member or friend and would like the blog removed from our website, please feel free to contact us and we will promptly accommodate your request.

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