2-Year-Old Boy Ejected Through Car Window in Crash Lands With No Serious Injuries

A 2-year-old boy in Florida suffered no serious injuries after a car crash sent him through the windshield.

A 2-year-old boy is recovering in the intensive care unit at a Florida hospital after a car crash that sent him flying through the back windshield of his mother’s car left him with bruised lungs and bruises on his head but no serious injuries, News 6 reports.

According to police, Artesia Cowart, 23, was driving her silver Buick LeSabre with her 2-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter in the backseat in Winter Haven, Florida at around 5:05 p.m. on Sunday, March 25. Cowart stopped at a stop sign for approximately 32 seconds before pulling out onto Highway 17 and into the path of a maroon Ford F-150.

Video footage captured by surveillance video at a nearby gas station shows the moment that the truck hits the back left door of Cowart’s vehicle, causing the car to spin across the road and ejecting the 2-year-old boy from the back window.

The toddler landed on the sidewalk and was missed by the Buick by just five feet as it began to roll backwards. The Buick continued to roll backwards until it came to a rest against a van.

The toddler was flown to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa for treatment. He suffered bruised lungs and bruises on his head, according to his aunt. Cowart and her 3-year-old daughter were Lakeland Regional Health with minor injuries.

The driver of the truck, 48-year-old Bryan Whiddon, did not require medical treatment. His passenger was transported for minor leg injuries.

Cowart’s Lesabre had two car seats and a booster seat in the back seat, but authorities have not yet determined if the seats were properly installed or if the children were correctly secured in them at the time of the collision. Neither seat was ejected with the boy, according to officials.

Police said neither speed nor impairment were factors in the crash.