A member of the Florida Highway Patrol saved a woman’s life after she became entangled in a seatbelt Thanksgiving evening on Florida’s Suncoast Parkway at the 32 milepost in Pasco County.
At about 9:30 p.m., Trooper Brad Wagner came upon a man standing outside his parked 2010 Toyota on the outside shoulder flagging passing traffic. Trooper Wagner stopped to render assistance and discovered a female passenger was entangled by her seatbelt which had been placed around her neck by the couple’s four-year-old child who had not wanted to remain in a car seat.
The seatbelt had locked in place and efforts by the 33-year-old husband to remove it further tightened the device effectively choking the 38-year-old Brooksville woman. Trooper Wagner immediately utilized a knife to cut the belt and restore breathing to the near unconscious woman. Soon evaluated by local EMS responders, the family continued on its way for the holidays.
This incident follows a Sept. 18 event in which Trooper Wagner was nearby and responded quickly to a traffic crash on SR-589. During this incident Trooper Wagner found an unconscious driver who had been ejected onto the roadway. Wagner provided CPR which eventually saved that motorist as well.