2-month-old survives ‘perilous downhill roll’

A 2-month-old girl was rescued by her father after a series of incidents at a downtown crosswalk caused the baby’s stroller to roll down North Webster Street Wednesday, Madison police said.

According to a release, a Madison family was crossing the street heading toward the children’s museum around 12:45 p.m. when a SUV turned from East Mifflin Street onto North Webster Street into their path.

The father got his 3-year-old boy out of the road, and the mother, who was pushing the stroller with the 2-month-old girl in it, tried to do the same, but she tripped and fell, police said. The mom lost her grip on the stroller, which sent it rolling downhill on Webster Street.

The Jeep’s driver, a 53-year-old woman, told police she did not see the family until the last second, but when she saw the stroller rolling down the street, she pulled over and tried to grab the stroller, according to the release.

When the woman got out of the Jeep, she forgot to put it in park, so it also started rolling downhill with no one behind the wheel, police said. When she tried getting back in the Jeep, she was knocked to the ground.

The dad was able to catch up with the stroller and rescue the baby, but no one was able to stop the jeep, according to the release. Another driver tried to position his vehicle to try and stop the Jeep’s momentum, but it didn’t hit anything or anyone in the intersection until it hit a tree.

The driver was taken to a hospital with road rash, and was cited for failing to yield the right of way.

Police said the family was relatively uninjured, and the 2-month-old baby slept through the entire incident.