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Dramatic video shows deputy rescuing baby trapped inside car after deadly crash in Florida
A sheriff’s deputy in southwestern Florida is being praised for saving the life of an infant who was found trapped and unresponsive inside a car that had just been hit by a speeding motorcycle. The collision, which left the motorcyclist dead, and its chaotic aftermath were recorded in dash camera and body camera video footage.
That video, released by the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, shows Deputy Sgt. Dave Musgrove driving along a main roadway in Englewood, about 50 miles north of Fort Myers, when a bright flash suddenly appears in the distance followed by a mangled motorcycle strewn in the middle of the roadway. Musgrove pulls over as he approaches the motorcycle and steps out to find a car stopped along the side of the road.
The motorcyclist had been traveling at speeds over 100 miles per hour, according to the sheriff’s office, and slammed into the car. The collision killed the motorcyclist, but inside the car a woman and her young child were alive and screaming. In the video footage, Musgrove first removes the child from the car and handed her to a bystander to whom he called out for help. Then, the deputy uncovers an infant still strapped into a car seat who is initially unresponsive. She did not have a pulse and was not breathing, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Musgrove in the video then pulls the baby from the car seat and begins to perform chest compressions until she finally inhales. An emergency medical services crew arrived at the scene shortly after and continued life-saving measures on the infant, who eventually had a detectable pulse, according to the sheriff’s office.
“It was a miracle that the officer was right there, witnessed the accident, and got to her right away,” Lisa Foley, the baby’s grandmother, told CBS affiliate WINK News.
The baby, named Lola, has regained some mobility in her legs and arms since being hospitalized after the accident, although she has continued to have frequent seizures, said her grandfather, Tim Foley, in comments to the station. Both the mother and the older child are “doing well,” according to the sheriff’s office.
“The actions of Sgt. Musgrove are to be commended,” Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummel said in a statement. “His poise and calm demeanor in a scene of chaos and tragedy ultimately saved the life of a beautiful child. … This was a senseless accident that resulted in a life lost, but it would have been two lives had Dave not been there. Still, I offer my thoughts and prayers to the friends and family of the motorcyclist and I ask that you keep this mother and her children in your prayers.”
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Teacher, student killed in Wisconsin school shooting identified
A teacher and student killed in a shooting earlier this week at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, were identified Wednesday by authorities.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release provided to CBS News that 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara were fatally shot Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School.
Preliminary examinations determined the two died of “homicidal firearm related trauma.” Both were pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner said.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.
The medical examiner also confirmed that a preliminary autopsy found that the suspected shooter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow — a student at the same school — was pronounced dead at a local hospital Monday of “firearm related trauma.” Madison Chief of Police Shon F. Barnes had previously told reporters that Rupnow was pronounced dead while being transported to a hospital.
Police had also previously stated that she was believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting at the private Christian K-12 school was reported just before 11 a.m. Monday. In addition to the two people killed and the shooter, six others were wounded.
Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
A handgun was recovered after the shooting, Barnes said, but it was unclear where the gun came from or how many shots were fired. A law enforcement source said the weapon used in the shooting appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
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contributed to this report.
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Last-minute government funding bill in limbo after opposition from Trump, others
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