Child ran over by fire department dog laying on golf cart accelerator pedal

07 August 2023 , 17:52

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Bella (pictured) had been laying on the golf cart accelerator pedal at the time of the incident (Image: Westland Fire & Rescue / Facebook)

A fire department dog in Michigan accidentally ran over a four-year-old girl with a golf cart on Friday when it decided to lay on the vehicle's pedal accelerator, fire officials said.

Westland Fire & Rescue's Arson Dog, named Bella, had been initially sitting on the seat of the golf cart while at Blues, Brews and BBQ - dubbed "the biggest summer bash in all of Western Wayne County". The golf cart was being used by the fire department for the event, according to a Saturday press release from the Office of the Fire Chief Darrell Stamper posted on Facebook.

Bella jumped on the floor of the golf cart in an effort to lay down and wound up laying across the accelerator pedal, fire officials shared.

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The golf cart ran over the little girl's leg but her mother didn't pursue further medical attention (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

"This caused the cart to lunge forward," and prompted firefighters to jump into action in a bid to stop the vehicle from barreling through the crowd and back "towards the tents that the fire department were occupying".

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"Unfortunately before the firefighters could bring the cart to a stop and remove the key from the vehicle, it struck a four-year-old girl and the passenger side front tire ran over her left leg," the fire department said in the release.

Paramedics and firefighters rushed to check over the girl and assess her for injuries. While she was "visibly shaken" by the ordeal, she had no obvious injuries. Her mother refused further treatment of transport to an emergency room, the fire department said.

Michiganders took to the fire department's post to send their well wishes to the young girl and to Bella (Westland Fire & Rescue / Facebook)

The concluded in the release: "Fortunately, the child was back to eating her popcorn within minutes of the incident and within 10 minutes of the incident was back to jumping in the fire department bounce house."

Michiganders took to the fire department's post to send their well wishes to the young girl and to Bella, even asking to see pictures of the slightly mischievous pooch.

A mother took to the post to share that her daughter was also injured in all the commotion but not highlighted in the release.

"My four-year-old daughter was also knocked down and laying face down, flat on the grass parallel to the cart," Talitha Marie said in the comments. "Thankfully walked away with only a bruise on her arm, but she was and still is very scared. Glad nobody was seriously injured."

Another Michigander asked the fire department if Bella's "days of golf cart racing are over?" Someone commenting as the fire department responded cheekily, "She will be back on the cart, just with extra precautions in place!"

Matthew Wright