An Arkansas firefighter was being hailed as a hero after saving a 4-year-old girl who fell out the back of a bus — and the whole thing was caught on dashcam video.
According to KLRT-TV in Little Rock, volunteer firefighter and EMT Ryan Ciampoli was driving behind a school bus on Saturday when the incident occurred.
As the bus rolled on Highway 65 in Harrison, Arkansas, the back door swung open. A 4-year-old girl was hanging onto it, and it didn’t take long for her to fall off. The bus simply drove away.
Advertisement - story continues below
As you can see from the video, Ciampoli slammed on the brakes and ran out into the middle of the road.
The girl had been rendered unconscious by the fall, but was coming to as the firefighter and EMT approached her.
Advertisement - story continues below
“Obviously, you want to leave her laying there if she’s not in danger, but we’re in the middle of a state highway so I couldn’t leave her just laying there,” Ciampoli said.
Ciampoli carefully moved her to a truck bed as he waited for paramedics to arrive.
“Once the adrenaline and the shock kicked in in her little body, she started kicking and screaming, and ‘Where’s my mommy,’ things like that,” he said. “Stuff like that is really heartbreaking.”
According to ABC News, Joel Block, an attorney representing the young girl’s family, said in a statement that the 4-year-old “remains in medical treatment and investigation is underway. The family requests privacy during this time.”
The bus was apparently used to ferry people to and from church; the pastor at Christian Life Center Church said that the shuttle would not be used again.
Advertisement - story continues below
Police announced Monday that the driver of the bus will not face charges, CNN reported.
Nevertheless, this little girl owes a massive debt of gratitude to Ryan Ciampoli. If it wasn’t for this brave firefighter, she could well be dead today.
H/T TheBlaze
Please like and share on Facebook and Twitter if you agree this firefighter is a hero.
What do you think about what this firefighter had to do? Scroll down to comment below!