MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Surveillance video obtained Thursday by Local 10 News shows a 3-year-old girl and her father fall off a motorcycle moments before it crashed into a wall in northeast Miami-Dade County.
Miami-Dade police Detective Lee Cowart said the 35-year-old father parked his three-wheeled motorcycle outside a home Wednesday evening and went inside to eat dinner. A few minutes later, someone told him his daughter had taken off on his motorcycle, so he ran after the bike, Cowart said.
The video shows the girl fall off the motorcycle and hit the concrete curb as the vehicle speeds out of the frame. The father, who also falls to the ground in the video, can be seen running to help the girl.
"To be honest, I thought she was dead," witness Andres Gomez said. "I took my phone, I called 911 and that's it. Ten minutes later, the fire rescue was here."
***WARNING: Some viewers may find this video disturbing. Viewer discretion advised.***
The girl was airlifted to Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, while the father was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
Yolene Casimir, the girl's grandmother, told Local 10 News that the girl was OK.
"I feel better because she is a neighbor. So it's good to see her be good again," Gomez said.
A Florida Department of Children and Families spokeswoman said the agency has since opened an investigation into the child's wellbeing. The spokeswoman said DCF has had no prior history with the family.