What happened is probably every parent’s nightmare. The incident happened in Harrison, Arkansas, when a trained emergency technician and volunteer firefighter was driving on Highway 65, with his dashboard video camera running. Ryan Ciampoli couldn’t believe his eyes as the back door of a church bus, driving in front of him, suddenly sprung open and a child fell out onto the highway. The church bus kept on going.

Ciampoli is a licensed Emt so he jumped out of his vehicle and immediately ran over to the little girl. He said he couldn’t believe it, as it was so shocking.

He told CNN it was the first time he had seen something like this and that it didn’t seem real, adding that he had to do a double-take.

EMT moved child and called emergency services

As he reached the little girl, he found her unconscious, but cradled her in his arms, talking to her until she briefly became conscious and immediately asked where her mommy was, before passing out again. Ciampoli immediately called emergency medical services and told them of the incident.

Ciampoli said normally you wouldn’t want to move an accident victim, as long as there was no danger, but it was a busy road and he couldn’t just leave her there on the hot pavement.

He added that the child had fallen into the middle of a state highway. Ciampoli carried her to the side of the road and put her in a truck bed in a parking lot nearby. He then got to work on the little girl, checking her vitals and keeping her conscious until the paramedics arrived.

Paramedics took the child to the hospital

Paramedics reportedly arrived on the scene in around 5 minutes and the little girl was taken to the Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, where she is recovering.

She reportedly suffered a broken jaw in her fall and has to undergo surgery. According to a report by Fox 59, at that time it was unclear whether the little girl opened the door deliberately, or if it wasn’t securely closed or locked.

Ciampoli works with Crawford County and says his vehicle is fitted with a dash cam that captured the footage, as he sometimes needs it while on duty.

Church bus driver will not face charges

CNN later reported that the male driving the church bus was the only adult on board and was taking children either to or from church at the time. Chief Paul Woodruff of the Harrison Police Department said other children on the bus told police that the little girl had gone to the rear of the bus, pulling the latch on the rear door and opening it. She immediately fell out. Reportedly, the other children then alerted the bus driver, who pulled over a little further down the highway. Police and emergency responders were on the scene by that time and the driver stayed on the bus with the other children.

According to Woodruff the incident was just a tragic accident and the driver of the church bus will not face any charges.
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