Posted on Wed, Jan. 01, 2003
A rollover crash at 3:52 p.m. at the 36 mile marker of Alligator Alley left a child dead and five other people injured, officials said.
A Firestone AT Wilderness tire blew on a red Isuzu Rodeo, which flipped several times, throwing all passengers from the van.
The crash temporarily shut down all traffic on the road while helicopter rescue crews landed, according to Todd LeDuc, assistant fire chief for Broward County Fire Rescue.
Traffic was reestablished but backed up.
Of the five who survived, a child was flown to Memorial Regional Hospital, two adults were flown to Broward General Medical Center in critical and stable condition and two others were taken by ambulance to Broward General. LeDuc said.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/4854861.htm
01/01/2003 Fatal Rollover Accident
Printable version
ALLIGATOR ALLEY -- Late this afternoon an SUV, filled with six members of a South Florida family, rolled over on Alligator Alley, killing one.
The rollover occurred along Alligator Alley, not too far from the toll plaza, near mile marker 36.
According to witnesses on scene, the SUV, an Isuzu Rodeo, blew a tire and lost control, ejecting at least one passenger.
The SUV flipped over and came to rest on its side.
At the time of the accident, there were six family members in the SUV; 3 adults and 3 children.
One of the children, a female, was ejected from the SUV and was pronounced dead on the scene.
The other five trauma patients were transported to area hospitals: 4 were taken to Broward General Medical Center where 2 females are currently in critical condition and 2 males are in seroius condition. 1 child went to Memorial Regional in Hollywood.
Officails are saying a faulty Firestone Tire is to blame. They are going to check the model number and see if this was one of the tires that was recalled by Firestone.
The accident scene has since been cleared and the roadway has re-opened.
Stay tuned to WSVN Channel 7 for more information on this story.
http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/C10780/
01/01/2003 Sen. Frist Aids Victims at South Florida Wreck Scene
MIAMI -- Incoming Senate majority leader Bill Frist, a surgeon, helped tend to six victims of a rollover accident on a Florida highway New Year's Day, earning praise from paramedics for stabilizing some of the four survivors.
Frist, R-Tenn., a full time heart and lung surgeon before joining the Senate eight years ago, is replacing Trent Lott, R-Miss., who stepped down as majority leader in December after making a racist comment.
An Isuzu Rodeo with six people aboard was heading west on Alligator Alley when it rolled over 3 to 4 miles west of the toll plaza in Broward County at 3:51 p.m., Broward Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief Todd Leduc said.
All six, including three children, were thrown out as the vehicle rolled. A 10-year-old girl died on the scene; another passenger died later at a hospital.
Frist, 50, was driving east on the highway, the Everglades portion of Interstate 75, heading to a family vacation home in Fort Lauderdale with his two sons when he came across the accident minutes after it happened, said Nick Smith, Frist's communications director in Washington.
He stopped and went to work checking the victims. When paramedics arrived, he pointed them to the ones in the most severe condition. Frist helped paramedics and several off-duty firefighters stabilize the victims until they were transported to area hospital after about 30 minutes.
"Senator Frist greatly assisted Broward County Fire Rescue. The Senate majority leader was really instrumental in helping us treat the victims," Leduc said. "We'd like to get in contact with him and recognize him for his efforts."
The injured victims were transported to Broward General Hospital in Fort Lauderdale and Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Leduc said. A 12-year-old was in critical condition. Authorities didn't release their identities.
"As a doctor, my first instincts are to help, and I was privileged to offer my assistance at the scene of this horrible accident," Frist said later Wednesday in a statement. "My heart goes out to this family which must face the start of the new year with this terrible tragedy."
Frist also returned Leduc's praise.
"I also want to commend the outstanding performance of the emergency medical personnel and law enforcement officers who responded with tremendous professionalism and expertise," he said in the statement.
The accident, about 35 miles northwest of Miami, jammed traffic on the busy highway well into the evening, creating a 12-mile backup at one time, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Frist has helped other people in medical emergencies.
On July 25, 1998, when a gunman opened fire in the U.S. Capitol, killing two police officers and wounding other people, Frist rushed to aid the victims. He treated one man who had been shot in the face and helped load him into an ambulance, and performed CPR on another man with a chest wound and rode with him to the hospital.
In 1995, Frist revived a 60-year-old man who collapsed inside a Senate office building.
And when Sen. Strom Thurmond, D-South Carolina, collapsed on the Senate floor on Oct. 2, 2001, Frist ran from a nearby meeting Thurmond's aid.
Frist graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1978. (AP)
http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/C10811/
