CLEVELAND — A 7-year-old boy was taken to the hospital early Monday morning after being rescued with the "Jaws of Life" after a pickup truck crashed into an apartment complex around 2:45 a.m. in the 4000 block of Park Fulton Oval in Cleveland.
Cleveland EMS confirms to 3News the boy was in the apartment when the vehicle struck the building.
Firefighters were able to use their equipment to lift the pickup off the boy, who had been sleeping and was trapped beneath the vehicle and the rubble. He was freed around 3:10 a.m. and taken to MetroHealth Medical Center in stable but serious condition, according to Cleveland Fire Lieutenant Mike Norman.
“There was some rubble and the weight of the truck, but luckily the child was able to survive the incident," Norman said. "He did suffer some second and third degree burns, but they said he was awake the whole time, was helping the firefighters to clear the debris. Everyday there’s something unusual generally for a firefighter, and that was certainly an unusual run that we went on.”
Norman added the boy's mother and older brother were also in the apartment at the time of the crash. Three families have been displaced as a result of the incident as officials assess damage to the building.
"Building and Housing came on scene, they'll do the assessment on the structural integrity of the building, they would do any damage estimates and so forth," he said.
Neighbors said they were woken up by the lights from the emergency vehicles, and noted the curve in the road leading to the apartment building. They also told WKYC drivers often speed through the area and don't stop for the light, leading to crashes.
“[I'm] a little bit shocked, but not really shocked, because again, there’s always accidents there," remarked Nelson Pacheco, who said he's seen accidents on the road but never involving the apartment building. :If you look at that guard rail, it's bent out of shape, people come around that corner so fast."
Cleveland police tell 3News one person has been arrested in connection with the incident. Further details are not known at this time.