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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Grandma on scooter is rescued from drain |
| 2006-12-20 |
| Yet another reason to stop smoking.``Where's grandma?'' ``Anyone seen the moped?'' The answer to these two questions was found overnight in the bottom of a storm drain, where a 55-year-old woman had to be rescued by a team of Miami paramedics. The woman, who was not identified, took her daughter's yellow scooter out for a spin about 11 p.m., fire rescue officials said. She left her house on Southwest 32nd Court and headed to a local convenience store, where she planned to buy a pack of cigarettes. But as the woman tried to turn out of her driveway, she drove the scooter directly into an uncovered storm drain. The four-foot-wide drain was surrounded by bright orange barricades, said Ignatius Carroll, a fire department spokesman. It had been under construction for weeks. The woman and the moped became wedged in the hole -- roughly six feet under ground. ''It was actually a good thing that she got wedged like that,'' Carroll said. ``There is water at the bottom of that drain. If she fell much farther, she could have drowned.'' Frightened and bleeding from the head, the woman cried out for help. Two of her daughters and several neighbors ran outside to find her. At first, they couldn't figure out where the screaming was coming from. But when they heard the woman's cries echo, they knew just where to look. The first paramedics on the scene treated the woman inside the drain. Rescue crews then used a fire truck ladder and a rope to remove her from the manhole. They used the same equipment to remove the yellow moped. The woman was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital with bumps, bruises and possibly a broken arm. Her daughter told reporters she shouldn't have been riding the scooter in the first place. |
| Posted by:Chuck Simmins |
| #1 Okay, I'm taking bets on whether or not alcohol was involved. I'm spotting 10 to 1 it was. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2006-12-20 16:51 |