By Lauren King
Virginian-Pilot
ACCOMACK COUNTY, Va. — A three-year-old girl who was rescued from her family’s crashed vehicle by a state trooper was treated and released from the hospital this weekend, along with her mother and two siblings.
On Friday, a 1995 Chevrolet Lumina ran off U.S. 13 in Accomack County, overturned and caught fire, a news release from the Virginia State Police said. Trooper K.J. Johnson was in the area when he saw the smoke and fire.
When he pulled up to the overturned vehicle, Danielle Strand, the driver, screamed that her child was trapped inside, the news release said. The trooper tried to extinguish the fire with his portable extinguisher, but the fire was too big. He then crawled inside through a rear passenger door, found the child under the dashboard of the overturned vehicle and pulled her out.
Rescuers arrived on scene as he pulled her out of the car and she and her mother, 6-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister were all taken to Shore Memorial Hospital for treatment.
The girl, who turned 3 on Friday, had two broken legs, the news release said. All four were released from the hospital this weekend.
Johnson was also treated for smoke inhalation.
Staff writer Patrick Wilson contributed to this story.
Copyright 2009 The Virginian-Pilot