An 8-year girl in Michigan saved the day with her quick thinking when she was presented with a terrifying situation recently.
Nearly two weeks ago, the young girl, Mariah, was being dropped off from school by her great-grandmother. What is normally a routine procedure turned dangerous very quickly. After the arrived in the driveway of Mariah’s home, her great-grandmother Patricia Lynch had exited the car which she thought was in park.
Suddenly, the blue Chevy Equinox began moving backward. Lynch tried her best to stop the vehicle, however, she fell and the tire ran over her foot, trapping her.
“She thought her car was in park but it was in reverse,” Mariah told “Good Morning America.” “It started moving and she tried to stop it and she fell and the tire [went] over her foot.”
Mariah quickly jumped into action, taking inspiration from watching other family members in similar situations.
“I pulled the keys out [of the ignition],” the 8-year-old stated.
“I didn’t know her foot was under there but I knew she could still get hurt because her body was under there,” Mariah continued.
“I thought it was a normal drop off and when I opened the door, I still didn’t hear her screaming initially,” Lane said. “I thought, ‘Well, maybe my grandmother was having a hard time pulling up the driveway’ because it’s a little hill. As I got closer to the car, that’s when I began to hear Mariah scream and I saw my grandmother’s shoes in the middle of the driveway. I couldn’t even see her yet. So I was just in disbelief.”
Lane said she ran outside to find her grandmother laying on the ground with her foot stuck under the car. Lynch was unable to pry herself out from under the vehicle.
“Mariah was able to go grab a towel. We wrapped her leg up and caught the ambulance,” Lane recounted, “She really thought fast.”
The great-grandmother “by the grace of God, ” did not suffer any serious injuries. However, she did have to get stitches and blood infusions for bruises, blisters, and blood loss. Last week, she was able to be discharged from the hospital. The 79-year-old will have to undergo physical therapy during her recovery.
Lane said she felt very proud of her daughter’s quick thinking which prevented the situation from becoming even worse. “Know that your kids are always paying attention. I really talked to Mariah and instilled in her to just follow her heart and make right decisions,” Lane said. “It just makes me proud that she just was able to think fast and she probably was more calm than me in this situation because I would have been frantic.”
Mariah claimed she felt scared and nervous during the incident, but this did not deter her from saving the day.
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