Child Hurt, Mother Pinned Under Car that Started Rolling

A local mother and her child were hurt after a frightening incident during which the car they were getting out of started to roll, struck both and pinned the woman underneath.

Portsmouth firefighters rushed to a Prudence View Drive residence within four minutes of getting a frantic 911 call at 4:36 p.m. and found an adult woman pinned under the vehicle, said Portsmouth Fire Dept. Chief MIchael P. O’Brien.

The victim, 39, told responders that the car began to roll as she attempted to remove her child from the car.

Portsmouth firefighters quickly deployed high-pressure lifting bags to raise the vehicle off the woman as a Tiverton Fire Department ambulance crew tended to the child. Both were transported to Newport Hospital for treatment for non life-threatening injuries.

The Portsmouth Fire Department has a set of bags on each fire engine and a single bag can lift about 90,000 pounds, O’Brien said. They are pumped up with 4,500 PSI SCBA cylinders carried on the fire trucks.

Firefighters were able to extricate, treat and get both victims transported to the hospital in less than 20 minutes.

Portsmouth Fire Department responders were under the command of Captain Howard Tighe; responders included Lieutenant Mike Pinksaw, Lieutenant Bill Ethier, Fire Fighter Drew White, Fire Fighter Rob Maglione, and Fire Fighter Brian Baker.