WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - There were scary moments after a child was thrown through the back window of the car he was in after it drove into the path of a pickup truck on Sunday.
Miraculously, the child did not suffer serious injuries.
A Buick LeSabre driven by Arteshia Cowart, 23, of Winter Haven, was at a stop sign at Avenue K NW and U.S. Highway 17 with her two children, ages 2 and 3, in the back seat.
Cowart was at the stop sign for about 32 seconds before pulling into the path of a Ford F-150, Winter Haven police said. The pick up collided with the LeSabre's driver's side passenger door.
"The impact caused the Buick to rotate counter-clockwise at which point the two year-old boy was ejected through the back window," police said. "The child lands on the sidewalk along the outside southbound lane of Hwy 17. The Buick rolls backwards towards the child missing him by an estimated 5 feet. The vehicle continues to travel backwards weaving thru cars that had stopped in the southbound lanes when the crash occurred."
The LeSabre stopped after hitting a van in a nearby parking lot.
Cowart and her three-year-old daughter were treated and released from Lakeland Regional Health with minor injuries.
The two-year-old boy was flown to St Joseph's Hospital in Tampa where he is expected to be released no later than Tuesday.
A passenger in the F-150 was taken to Lakeland Regional Health with leg injuries.
"There were two car seats and a booster seat in the backseat of Cowart's car," police said. "Investigators are working to determine if the seats were properly installed and whether the children were secured correctly. Neither speed nor impairment appears to be factors in the crash."
Charges are pending in the continuing investigation.
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