Rachel A. Pittman attempted to rescue three children from a runaway vehicle, Rosman, North Carolina, October 29, 1999. The children, aged 4, 1, and two weeks, were unattended inside an automobile, which, its engine running, was parked in front of a store in a paved lot that sloped down to the roadway. The car began to move backward toward the road. In a vehicle parked next to the car was Ms. Pittman, 32, waitress. She immediately exited her vehicle and ran after the runaway car. Catching up to it as it began to enter the roadway, Ms. Pittman opened the driver’s door, reached inside, and grasped the steering wheel. The opened door struck her and knocked her to the pavement, and the front left wheel of the car ran over her. The car came to a stop partially over her but was moved away by others. Ms. Pittman was hospitalized two days for treatment of extensive injuries, including a broken rib and broken collarbone, and she required several weeks of convalescence.
74034 – 8442
74034-8442