Dramatic moment group of Good Samaritans flip over wrecked SUV to rescue a toddler trapped inside after rollover crash
- Couple and their young child were driving in Chicago on the night of June 7 when their SUV was broadsided by a van and overturned
- Dozen neighbors in Gage Park section rushed over and used their bare hands to put the SUV upright
- Good Samaritans then used hammers and bats to smash the windows and rescue the family trapped inside
When an SUV carrying a family of three was struck by a speeding van causing it to overturn on a Chicago street, a dozen Good Samaritans joined forces to flip it over and rescue the victims trapped inside, including a toddler.
Dramatic video emerged over the weekend capturing the aftermath of the accident, which took place at the intersection of West 51st Street and S Lawndale Avenue in the Gage Park section of the city on the evening of June 7.
A couple and their toddler were traveling in their SUV just before 9.40pm when police say a white van ran a red light and broadsided their vehicle, causing it to roll over, as seen on surveillance video from the area.
This dramatic screenshot shows the moment a group of a dozen Chicago residents banded together to help rescue a family from an overturned SUV after a crash
The SUV flipped over after being broadsided by a van on the night of June 7
Adults and teens from the area rushed over and used their bare hands to put the SUV upright in the Gage Park neighborhood
It took the group a few seconds of pushing to right the SUV carrying a man, a woman and a toddler in the backseat
Isaac Terrazas, pictured in red shorts and no shirt, said he was overcome with fear after hearing the woman crying for her baby inside the vehicle
The van then continued on its way without stopping, leaving the family’s SUV resting on its roof in the middle of the road.
Luckily for its occupants, neighbors and passing motorists who heard the commotion rushed to the scene to help.
As a bystander’s video shows, the Good Samaritans, including teenagers, used their bare hands to flip over the SUV.
Isaac Terrazas, a local teen, was seen on video running shirtless toward the wrecked vehicle and helping others put the vehicle upright.
Speaking to CBS Chicago, Terrazas said he was overcome with fear for the family trapped inside the stricken SUV.
Surveillance video caught the moment the black SUV was broadsided at the intersection of West 51st Street and South Lawndale Avenue
Police say thre white van ran a red light before T-boning the black SUV
The van continued on its way without stopping, as seen in the video, leaving the overturned vehicle in the middle of the road
‘We didn’t know if anybody else was in there, so we decided to flip it over. And we made sure on the other side no one would get crushed,’ he said.
Terrazas, who arrived on the scene with his stepfather, recalled hearing a woman inside the vehicle crying for her baby.
When the neighbors realized there was a child strapped in a car seat in the rear of the SUV, they grabbed bats and hammers to smash the windows in order to rescue the family without waiting for the arrival of firefighters.
‘It didn’t matter what race we were, how old we were,’ said Terrazas. ‘We’re all just humans, and we all helped, and that little act there shows we can come together and do something.’
The two adults and the child who were pulled to safety from the SUV are said to be in good condition.