Calif. Girl, 10, Hit by Ford Model T While Saving Boy
June 18--MODESTO -- Modesto police are hailing a 10-year-old girl as a hero for rescuing a young boy on his bicycle from traffic before being struck herself and suffering major injuries.
The girl was at the food trucks along Crows Landing Road just north of School Avenue near Shackelford Elementary School at 9:55 p.m. Saturday.
She spotted a boy riding his bicycle in traffic on Crows Landing and feared he would be hit, Lt. Jolene Gonzales said. So the girl rushed into the street to bring him to safety.
Gonzales said several cars swerved around the girl as she pulled the boy out of the traffic. She was able to get the boy off the road, but a 1927 Ford Model T traveling south on Crows Landing could not stop in time and hit the girl.
The girl, whose identity was not released, was taken by ambulance to a hospital. She suffered a fractured skull, multiple broken bones and a lacerated spleen.
Gonzales said the girl is expected to survive and make a full recovery. It is not known whether the girl and the boy know each other or are related.
The driver of the Model T was not injured. Gonzales said she did not know if the car and its driver were in Modesto for the monthlong Graffiti Summer events celebrating classic car culture.
Spot for refreshments
The area along Crows Landing Road has two taco trucks and a drink truck parked in front of Garcia's Valley Produce Market.
Across the street are auto repair shops and Shackelford Elementary School.
Customers and workers at the food trucks and market Sunday afternoon said they had not seen the accident and did not know the girl or boy.
"She is a hero in our opinion, saved a little boy," Gonzales said. "But she got struck."
Bee staff writer Marijke Rowland can be reached at [email protected] or (209) 578-2284.
Copyright 2012 - The Modesto Bee, Calif.