Australian girl, five, fighting for life again after second tragic accident

THOUSANDS of messages of support have flooded in for an Australian five-year-old who defied the odds to survive horrible burns three years ago only to be fighting for her life after a second accident.

Sophie Delezio rose to national prominence in 2003 when she suffered third-degree burns to 85% of her body after she became trapped under a runaway car which ploughed into her childcare centre and burst into flames.

The little girl lost both feet, several fingers and her right ear in the accident but surprised doctors to make a remarkable recovery.

On Friday she was again hit by a car in Sydney as she was pushed across the road in a pram outside her school.

It was also the second time she was hit by an elderly driver; the first accident was caused by a man in his late 60s who suffered a seizure at the wheel while an 80-year-old man has been charged with dangerous driving over the latest accident.

Delezio’s doctor yesterday said she remained on life support but her injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

Assistant director of clinical operations Randwick Children’s Hospital, Jonny Taitz, said she had a broken jaw and shoulder bone, numerous rib fractures and bleeding around her left lung.

“At the moment we are concerned about damage to her lung because there is a lot of blood in that lung,” said Dr Taitz.

But her head injuries were not as serious as first thought and she was expected to make a full recovery.

The news of Sophie’s latest accident prompted a vigil outside her Sydney hospital and so far more than 4,300 messages of support from Australia and overseas have been posted on a website www.wishesforsophie.com set up after Friday’s accident.

One message to the child read in part: “Dear Sophie, you were put on this earth for a reason — to be an inspiration to us all. Fight hard Sophie — we know you have before and we know you can again.”

Sophie’s father, Ron Delezio, said the family had been overwhelmed by the public response.

“It’s amazing and it’s very heartening to us to see people that care for other people through faith in humanity out there,” he said.

But he remained shocked that his child had been involved in another serious accident in less than three years.

“I just can’t believe it’s happened again,” he said as he choked back tears.

“I just can’t believe that she’s got to go through all the pain again.”

Sophie is expected to remain in intensive care for at least three weeks.