HILLIARD, Ohio — A 7-year-old girl was hospitalized with serious injuries after she exited a float during Hilliard's Fourth of July parade on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the city of Hilliard said the girl exited a float during the parade, and then was struck by the same vehicle that was carrying the float.
10TV spoke to a couple who witnessed the incident and said that it was chaos when it happened.
“It came to an abrupt stop. There was a lot of confusion going on. Not really sure what was happening initially,” said Timothy Domer, a witness to the incident.
Domer was attending the parade with his family when he saw a truck full of softball girls come to a stop. When he realized something bad was happening, he jumped into action.
“Someone yelled for a paramedic. I myself yelled down the street because I knew there was a paramedic on the bike that had just gone down not even three minutes before then,” said Domer.
He said a paramedic came within three minutes. His wife, Carrie, also tried to help.
“The part that kept getting me as a mom was all the other kids around that were witnessing what had happened. Getting them out of the way, and off to the side. That was important,” she said.
Carrie said everyone was trying to do their part.
“Seeing people come together like that in that situation. I don’t know how you couldn’t prevent yourself from trying to help in some way,” she said.
The couple said they never expected to see something like this at a Fourth of July celebration.
“This is the first time. I was born and raised in Hilliard. This is the first time I’ve ever seen or heard of anything like this happening,” Timothy said.
They are praying for the family, and hope to never see something like that happen again.
“I’m praying for them. Thinking of them, thinking of everyone involved in that situation. As a softball mom it hits home, it really does. Just hope everything is okay,” said Carrie.
The incident remains under investigation.