DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) - A 9-year-old boy is home from the hospital, days after, police said, the driver of an SUV ran over him as he was riding his bicycle in Davie, then dragged him several hundred feet.
According to Davie Police, Ming Lin was on his way to school when he was run over by the driver of a Chevy Suburban as she was exiting the parking lot of the Little Rascals Academy at 6500 SW 39th St., Wednesday.
7News cameras captured the boy lying in bed shortly after returning home from the hospital, Friday afternoon. His left leg was in a Navy blue cast and his left shoulder and right forearm covered in bandages.
His mother said she’s endured a terrifying ordeal. “[He stayed at the hospital] for three days and three nights,” she said.
Police have since released surveillance footage of the incident, Friday. According to officials, the boy slipped and fell off his bicycle as he headed westbound and stopped at the intersection.
“It was raining and wet out that day,” said Davie Police Sgt. Mark Leone. “The juvenile had approached the vehicle and had either slid or fallen down somehow off his bicycle.”
As he attempted to get up, the SUV made a right turn, driving over him and the bicycle. “[She] drags the juvenile and the bicycle underneath her vehicle for about 448 feet,” said Leone.
One witness told police that the driver was on her phone at the time of the incident. “She first thought that the driver was going to call rescue for the juvenile that had fallen off but later realized that it was an unrelated phone call,” said Leone.
That witness said she alerted the driver once she was stopped for traffic on Southwest 39th Street. “That’s when the witness hit the window to let this person know that there was a kid trapped underneath her car,” said Leone.
Good Samaritans rendered aid before paramedics responded to the scene. One of them, Brandon Rose, later told 7News he knew just what to do.
“It was probably fatherly instincts,” he said.
Rose grabbed the jack from his own SUV and used it to lift the Suburban. “By the time I got it all jacked up, I could see that he was going to be free from it,” he said.
With rescue crews just arriving at the scene, Rose was able to free the child and remove his bicycle from underneath the vehicle. “The paramedics were there and helped us get him out from underneath it,” he said.
Crews transported the boy to Memorial Regional Hospital with injuries to his shoulder, back and legs that were serious but not life-threatening.
Lin now has a quick-thinking good Samaritan to thank. “If it were one of my children, I would want somebody to do the same thing,” said Rose.
Leone said the incident serves as a cautionary tale for drivers. “You need to be very careful when you’re driving. If you’re on the phone or distracted, unfortunately, incidents like this can happen,” he said.
Lin’s mother said she feels fortunate that the outcome was not worse. “Yeah, I feel lucky now,” she said.
Charges against the driver of the Suburban are pending.
Lin is expected to make a full recovery.
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