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13-Year-Old Girl Dies After Good Samaritans Lift Burning SUV Off Her

Separated Tire Causes Rollover Crash

POSTED: 6:03 am EDT April 18, 2008
UPDATED: 12:31 pm EDT April 18, 2008

A 13-year-old girl rescued by four good Samaritans who lifted a burning vehicle off her after a rollover crash on the Florida Turnpike died on Friday morning, authorities said.

The girl, who had been critically injured with extensive burns, was taken off life support on Friday morning at about 10:30 a.m. and died shortly thereafter, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

A family of four, two of whom were ejected in the crash, was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center after the 2003 red GMC Envoy's left rear tire blew out at about 7:20 p.m. Thursday while traveling southbound near mile marker 277 of the turnpike in Lake County near Clermont.

The 13-year-old girl and a man were airlifted to ORMC, while a woman and a boy were taken by ambulance.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Elizabeth Pinero, 30, of Inverness, lost control of the SUV when the tire blew and drove into the median, striking a guardrail and overturning. The ejected 13-year-old girl ended up underneath the SUV, which caught fire, troopers said.

Four good Samaritans lifted the burning SUV off the girl and were able to get her away from the vehicle, troopers said. The FHP initially reported that three people pulled the SUV off the girl.

"I got out of the vehicle and was running to them and the car went into flames," witness Velvet Thornton said. "When I got up there, there was somebody pulling somebody out on fire."

The good Samaritans, who have not yet identified, were not injured.

The crash remains under investigation, and no charges have been filed.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

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