In a rather unusual incident, two Boulder Police officers leaped into action to pull a mother and her child to safety while their vehicle was hanging precariously over a retaining wall. Thankfully, nobody was injured but the mother is now facing a number of charges including child endangerment.
Boulder Fire-Rescue and local police responded to the call for service at what appears to be around 5:18 p.m. according to body cam footage. When police arrived they found a Lexus RX with its front left wheel completely over a retaining wall and its rear passenger tire floating in the air. The driver appeared to be trying to reverse back onto solid ground.
Just as the sun was setting last night Officers Castro and Ray were called to 30th and Valmont for a report of a vehicle that had crashed and was hanging precariously on a retaining wall.
— Boulder Police Dept. (@boulderpolice) January 17, 2024
As they ran up to the car, they also learned that a 4-year-old child was in the back seat.… pic.twitter.com/YI3aIDMLSN
Police instructed her to stop and they began the extraction process. First, they opened the rear driver’s side door and pulled the toddler from the vehicle. Then, Fire-Rescue workers stabilized the front of the Lexus SUV so that police could safely extract the driver without fear of the car tumbling over the retaining wall.
More: Jeep Takes A Tumble And Traps Driver On Remote Off-Road Trail Sparking Rescue
It’s unclear what caused the accident as it happened behind a business and off of a main road. Photos and video from the scene show that conditions were snowy. In addition, there’s a large fence at the retaining wall so it doesn’t appear that the driver would’ve accidentally driven over it. What’s clear is that police appear to think that the driver should be criminally liable for the accident.
They’ve charged her with careless driving, reckless endangerment, and child abuse. Those are stout charges and investigators are also considering the possibility that the driver had a medical event leading to the crash. The Boulder Police Department went as far as to remind everyone that the driver is innocent until proven guilty. Ultimately, what matters most is that everyone walked away unharmed.
