A motorist struck a girl outside a movie theater at the Pembroke Lakes Mall amid chaos after a brawl Saturday night, hospitalizing the child.
Police were already on scene at the mall responding to a fight between juveniles at Round 1. But what started out as a weaponless scrap between kids somehow turned into mass alarm.
In a video released by Pembroke Pines Police Department, people at the mall can be seen running away from the scene and screaming. The girl, whose age and identity were withheld, fell on the road outside the AMC Pembroke Lakes 9 movie theater during the chaos. The driver didn’t seem to see her and struck her, pushing her under the passenger-side front tire of the sedan.
The reason why the situation escalated was not immediately clear.
The girl was rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital but did not have life-threatening injuries, according to spokesman Captain Adam Feiner.
“It was a miracle for sure that she wasn’t injured more severely,” Feiner said.
Pembroke Pines has assigned detectives to investigate. The driver remained on scene and cooperated with police, according to the release.
Besides the video, which was provided to police by WSVN and circulated on social media, evidence remains sparse. Pembroke Pines Police Department has asked anyone else with information or footage of the incident to reach out. Because a number of people were present in the area, investigators believe it’s likely that other footage was captured and could be used in an investigation, Feiner said.
Police also expect that they will be able to collect security footage from local businesses but will have to wait until they reopen after the holiday weekend.
