NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WKBW) — A 12-year-old girl was hit by a car and seriously injured in North Tonawanda on Saturday. Thanks to the quick actions of an off-duty North Tonawanda firefighter, she’s recovering in the hospital.
Just before 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Kyle Stevener was driving his wife and kids home from the Erie County Fair when he saw that 12-year-old girl in serious need of help at the intersection of River and Ward Roads.
“The car that had struck her had just pulled to the side of the road as we were coming up,” Stevener said. “I looked in my rearview mirror, and I saw a body lying in the roadway off to the shoulder.”
WATCH: ‘What we do’: Off-duty North Tonawanda firefighter rushes to aid 12-year-old who was hit by a car
Stevener, the North Tonawanda Fire Department’s Assistant Chief Municipal Training Officer, told me he immediately sprang into action, pulling over the family car to rush to the injured girl’s side.
Stevener: “I assessed her airway and her breathing, repositioned her head, helped with C-spine positioning, kind of assessed her neurological status using her pupils.”
Q: “Being off-duty, what made you spring into action”
Stevener: “Honestly, just training, that’s what we do. Y’know, I was a commercial paramedic before I got into the fire department.”
North Tonawanda police say the girl failed to yield to traffic and attempted to cross River Road when cars had a green light. This crosswalk is at the southernmost entrance to Gratwick-Riverside Park.
According to a GoFundMe, the girl’s name is Aubree, and she is in the pediatric ICU at Golisano Children’s Hospital in stable but critical condition.
The GoFundMe says that Aubree has a broken bone, organ damage, and cuts. However, she did not suffer any head injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.
In nearly three days, the fundraiser has raised about $15,000 for her and her family. You can find a link to the fundraiser here.
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