Police: Car that hit Ohio crowd had been parked
Jun 19, 2012, 3:43 PM
LIMA, Ohio (AP) – A man who got trapped under a car when it plowed into a crowded street festival said the bystanders who lifted the vehicle off him might have saved his right leg from being amputated.
Demetrius Thompson is one of two people who remained hospitalized this week after police said a 63-year-old woman drove into the crowd Friday night, injuring more than two dozen.
“I just want everyone to know I’m OK,” he told The Lima News (
http://bit.ly/LbGf4d). He said the people who lifted the car off him were heroes.
Thompson said doctors reconstructed his leg, which was badly broken. His foot also was mangled in the accident.
Investigators were still looking into what caused the accident and have not filed charges.
More than 1,000 people had gathered for a weekly community event featuring live music when witnesses say the woman plowed her car through a group of people trying to get their last round of beer for the night at the downtown festival, about 80 miles south of Toledo.
It appears the car had been stopped in a diagonal parking space before it accelerated, said police Sgt. Nick Hart. Police have said it appears the woman, whose name has not been released, unintentionally drove into the crowd.
The car went about 50 feet at about 20 mph before striking an old sculpture in the town square, witnesses and police said.
Hospitals said 27 people were treated that night.
About 30 witnesses have come forward. The investigation is expected to take several weeks.
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Information from: The Lima News,
http://www.limanews.com
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
