Three off-duty first responders rescue 14-year-old girl trapped under car in Waltham
Three off-duty first responders, who happened to be in the right place at the right time, combined their efforts to rescue a 14-year-old girl who was trapped underneath a car in Waltham Thursday, officials said.
The incident began around 3 p.m. Thursday when the girl and an 18-year-old man, who were walking along the sidewalk on Lexington Street, were struck by a car exiting the driveway of the Waltham Racquet Ball Club, Waltham police said.
The man was knocked aside by the car, but the 14-year-old girl became trapped. The vehicle, a 2007 Hyundai Sonata, traveled west on Lexington Street and onto the sidewalk outside a True Value hardware store, where it came to a stop with the girl still underneath, police said in a statement.
Off-duty Police Officer Jeffrey Fogg radioed police about the incident and then ran into a nearby automotive business, Boston Muffler, and was given a floor jack. Waltham Police Detective Sergeant Steven Fournier and Waltham Firefighter Matthew MacEwen, also off-duty, joined Fogg in lifting the car enough to allow the girl to be extricated.
She was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital with serious injuries. The 18-year-old man was taken to Newton Wellesley Hospital for treatment of minor injuries, police said.
One of the rescuers was going for coffee before a class, another was just going for a walk, and the third happened to be driving by, police said.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Police said the driver did not appear to be impaired at the time.
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