Pasco firefighter, wife and baby seriously injured in crash

ODESSA, Fla. - A major crash in the Odessa area left a Pasco County firefighter, his wife and their baby with severe injuries.

Firefighter Hunter Garcia and his family were driving on Van Dyke Road around 2 p.m. Friday when a car ran a stop sign on Brown Road and T-boned their SUV, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

"It's really devastating. It's hard for us as first responders for people don't know that aren't a part of that family, we truly are a family," said Pasco Fire Rescue spokesman Corey Diedrorff.

Pasco Fire Rescue said Garcia and his wife both suffered severe injuries and were taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. Their infant daughter sustained life-threatening injuries and is in critical condition.

"We really need a lot of prayers, this little girl is fighting for her life right now and it's heartbreaking," Diedrorff said.

The accident happened near Rosa Guido's home, who said bystanders tried to help the family immediately after the crash.

"We take out the baby. Everybody tried to do CPR on the baby waiting for the paramedic coming," Guido said.

The impact caused a chain reaction crash, involving four vehicles in all. Five people, including the Garcia family, were hospitalized as a result of the crash.

"Nobody's giving up on anything. We're going to do everything we can to make sure that the best outcome can come out," said Diedrorff.

Deputies said the baby was in a car seat and properly strapped in, but the impact was very forceful. The driver who ran the stop sign also went to the hospital, and deputies are talking to that person to figure out what happened.