Deputy's Act of Kindness Results in New Bike for Child Following Crash

While a 12-year-old Tampa girl escaped a run-in with a SUV on Sunday with only minor injuries, her bicycle didn’t fare as well.

That’s why Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Cpl. Doug White stepped in to help.

White contacted a local Walmart to arrange the purchase of a replacement, but the store donated the bicycle instead, said sheriff’s office spokeswoman Debbie Carter. The sheriff’s office, in turn, provided helmets to the girl and her mother.

The accident that led to the act of kindness occurred around 10:30 a.m. at the intersection of Waters Avenue West and Pinehurst Drive. The child, Shylin Rodriguez, was traveling east through the crosswalk along with her mother when a mid-sized SUV traveling south on Pinehurst tried to make a turn onto westbound Waters, Carter said.

The driver of that SUV, Alberto Gomez, 56, didn’t stop at the red light and ended up striking the child, knocking her to the ground, Carter said.

Gomez was cited in the crash and the girl suffered minor injuries.

White was able to present the child the shiny new bicycle and helmets shortly after the accident.

Image via Shutterstock

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