A mother and her teenage daughter in Missouri were rescued after her car crashed and pinned the woman in a perilous position. Bodycam footage from an officer on the scene captured their cries for help as first responders sprung into action. Police worked quickly to pull the 12-year-old from the wreck before moving in to assist the mother.
Officers help rescue mom’s child first from car wreck
On the morning of August 26, officers from the Berkeley Police Department in Missouri and troopers from Missouri State Highway Patrol responded to a crash that resulted in a blue vehicle flipping over with the mother and her daughter inside, according to a Facebook post from the MSHP and a report by local outlet FOX 2.
Officer O’Shea Conway was on patrol near the 70/170 interchange when he was signaled by someone on the shoulder who was concerned about a vehicle that had disappeared into the trees.
According to the report, Conway approached the vehicle and smashed the rear window to free the 12-year-old, who had suffered moderate injuries during the crash. Bodycam footage shows the girl being carried to the side of the road where she was able to sit and recuperate.
The video then cuts to a different perspective as an officer asks for assistance in freeing the trapped mother, who had somehow found herself trapped within the vehicle in an awkward and dangerous position.
“Her head’s underneath it,” one officer says. “I don’t know if we can pick it up enough.”
“Get over here,” another officer replies. “Let’s try it; all of us. Get over here!”
Deciding that time was of the essence and that they couldn’t wait for other emergency vehicles to arrive, the officers and troopers attempted to lift the vehicle instead. That didn’t work at first. But a second lift managed to free her head, allowing responders to pull the mother safely from the car. At the time of the report, the woman was still in critical condition at the hospital.
Major Steve Runge, the acting police chief for the Berkeley Police Department, praised the efforts of the troopers and officers. “That’s heroic, you know; what those guys did,” Runge said. “I mean, how many times do you hear about your police officers lifting up a car to save a human being?”
