8-year-old girl falls out of car on I-10, flown to hospital in critical condition

BUCKEYE, Ariz. (FOX 10) - Authorities say an 8-year-old girl is in critical condition after she fell out of a car on Interstate 10 in Buckeye.

According to the Buckeye Fire Department, the girl was found lying in the road near I-10 and Miller Road overnight. DPS officials say the girl fell out of a minivan through a sliding side door, while it was heading east on the I-10 shortly before midnight Monday. The girl was unresponsive and had several cuts and bruises. She was flown to Phoenix Children's Hospital in critical condition.

"She was unresponsive, she was breathing on her own, had a heartbeat," said Buckeye Fire Captain Tommy Taylor. "We got there in a timely manner, there was a fire engine that beat us there. They were able to start aid. The chief and I showed up, we went ahead and got the helicopter in the air. Phoenix Children's Hospital is about 40 miles away. Even though it was in the middle of the night, we needed to get her there as quick as possible."

The Arizona Department of Public Safety says the girl fell out of a moving vehicle and her family was close to her location. DPS officials say this is not a criminal investigation, but wouldn't say how it happened, as of Tuesday night. The girl's family, along with their car, were located just east of the scene.

A truck driver was able to block traffic for a bit after he managed to see her, something that isn't easy on a dark stretch on the Interstate in the Far West Valley.

"It's gonna be hard, especially in the night time, to see something like that," said Edgar Lopez.

Eastbound I-10 was briefly closed to allow the medical helicopter to land.