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CNN Live Saturday

3-Year-Old Survives Car Crash

Aired December 29, 2001 - 16:24   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: From the bitter cold region of Nova Scotia comes a remarkable story of survival. After his mother's car plunged down a 90-foot cliff on Christmas Eve, a toddler was left alone but alive in freezing rain. Alex Bass (ph) from ATV in Canada has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX BASS, ATV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This road is part of the scenic trail route in northern Nova Scotia. This time of year can be a tricky highway to navigate. Police believe the road was slippery when Toni Gabriel's (ph) car slid off the road and plunged 30 meters over a cliff.

JOHN REID, JOGGINS FIRE CHIEF: I don't think there was any chance for the car to ride the bank down, come out -- and it has landed some 30, 40 feet out from the bank and put a fairly large crater in the ground where it hit. And then recoiled, and landed another 15 feet or so from there.

BASS: Chief Reid says the 24-year-old mother died at the scene; 3-year-old son miraculously survived. The woman's body was discovered at the water's edge, five meters from the overturned car. Believed the accident occurred around 10 p.m. Christmas Eve. The car was discovered some 12 hours later, Christmas morning.

Linda Bellivaeu could see the wreck from her home, and knew something was wrong when she heard a child crying.

LINDA BELLIVAEU, LOWER COVE RESIDENT: He wasn't crying very loud, because, well, he might have been crying all night, so. He was getting pretty tired of crying. So, it was a pretty tired cry.

BASS: After spending the night on the beach beside his mother's body, the youngster was taken to a hospital for minor frostbite to his toes. He has since been released.

BELLIVAEU: He was sitting on the beach, he was sitting on his knees, and he was really wet and cold, and he had lots of rocks all over him, rocks in his hair. He was a pretty cold little boy. He was pretty upset he couldn't find his ducky boots and he kept telling me what his name was, told me his name was Gage (ph), and he told me that his mother was in the car. It was just him and his mommy. BASS: Could this tragedy have been prevented? Residents say more guard rail might have made the difference. They have lobbied the Nova Scotia government for the past five years, with no luck.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically (UNINTELLIGIBLE) it was a straight away, the corner itself was covered with guard rail that the other part didn't qualify for guard rail.

BASS: Toni Gabriel's (ph) car skidded off the road just before the start of the guard rail.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think this should be the calling card that gets us the guard rail that we need for that area.

BASS: It's the third accident here in the past 18 months but the first fatality, and it happened at the worst possible time of the year.

In Lower Cove, Alex Bass (ph), ATV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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