> First responders rush to save girl swept into storm drain in Sarasota
First responders rush to save girl swept into storm drain in Sarasota
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A young girl was swept into a drain Sunday evening following a water main break in Sarasota, deputies say.
It happened just before 6:30 p.m. on Bahia Vista Street, next to Sarasota Christian School. According to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office (SCSO), the broken water main, combined with heavy rain, created a strong current that pulled the child into the drainage system while she was playing near a culvert with other children.
Deputies say the girl was found about 100 yards west on the street after being carried through the drain.
She was rushed to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where she remains in critical condition.
According to SCSO, Bahia Vista Street was closed to eastbound and westbound traffic between Honore Avenue and Arcadia Avenue following the incident.
Sometime afterward, the eastbound lanes of Bahia Vista Street "collapsed into a large pool" of water that officials say was about four feet deep. The roadway is now open to one lane east and westbound as of Monday.
Neighbor Tom McGee said he first realized something was wrong when his water pressure suddenly dropped.
“Lost pressure in the house. Went around the outside to see what was going on, and all I could see is that it was spewing out by the bus stops,” McGee recalled.
He shared Ring doorbell video showing several feet of water rushing down the street, flooding yards and driveways.
“Basically, it looks like a waterfall. There was water just rushing down the street,” he said. Moments later, he saw emergency crews running in after realizing the girl had been pulled into the pipe.
A woman at the family’s home, who declined to give her name, said they are grateful to first responders.
“Everyone was so great. All of the officers, the firefighters… everyone was,” she said.
She added that the family is leaning on faith as the girl fights for her life: “They’re saying it’s going to take a miracle, so we ask, please, for a miracle. Because God can do miracles. She had so many miracles to bring her up out of there."
McGee said neighbors have been shaken by the ordeal.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with them constantly. As soon as we saw that there was a child… we were very concerned,” he said.
Officials say the flooding also caused part of the eastbound lanes of Bahia Vista Street, near Cornish Court and Arcadia Avenue, to collapse into a pool of water about four feet deep. County workers quickly moved in to stabilize the area, and the roadway was open to traffic Monday.
Sarasota County deputies say the child was taken to a hospital and is receiving medical attention as of Sunday night.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office says the case has been assigned to a detective in its Criminal Investigations Section. Authorities stressed there is no indication of intentional wrongdoing, but said the circumstances warrant a full review.