Orange County deputy, humble heroes lift SUV off girl pinned underneath

Deputy Lawyer Cliborne bought new helmet, bike for crash victim

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – At the intersection of Old Winter Garden and Kirkman Road on the afternoon of Sept. 20, a girl was pinned underneath an SUV.

Her mother told Orange County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Lawyer Cliborne she was riding her bike home for the first time after school when she was struck by the vehicle.

Cliborne's bodycam caught the rescue.
 
The deputy was on his way to a different incident when he happened to be where he was needed most.

"As I got out of my car, I went a little bit further and somebody was leaning down yelling,” Cliborne said. “I looked underneath and there was a little girl underneath the car.”

At first, he said the girl was unresponsive. With seconds to make a move, he made a decision that may have saved the girl's life.

"I looked under the car a second time and I actually saw her look at me and her eyes tracked, so at that point I asked some other gentlemen standing around, I asked if they could help me lift the car up," Cliborne said.

Owner of nearby Kings Auto car dealership, Louay Seif, was among those to help raise the SUV off the trapped girl.

"There may have been about eight or nine of us coming from 7-Eleven, us over here, people who stopped at the red light, helped pick up the SUV while the police officer pulled the girl from under," Seif said.

Cliborne said the girl's clavicle was broken, putting pressure on her heart. She was rushed to Arnold Palmer Hospital, where she underwent surgery.

A month later, the girl is recovering, and has a new bike and helmet as a gift from Cliborne.

"Nowadays a lot of people don't like taking direction from police, but at that time it wasn't about police giving directions it was all about helping this little girl," Cliborne said.

As for good Samaritans like Seif, he doesn't like to call himself a hero.

"A hero is a one-man show. It's the protagonist. We all bound together. It happened so quick. You know, just thank God she's doing well," he said.