"It just makes me proud that she just was able to think fast and she probably was calmer than me in this situation," said her mom.
An 8-year-old Michigan girl is being commended for the quick thinking that led to her helping save her great-grandmother, Patricia Lynch, 79. Lynch had picked her up from school and was headed to drop her at her West Bloomfield home on January 11, something she had done before. After they reached the driveway of Mariah's home, Lynch got out of the car, a blue Chevy Equinox, while Mariah was still inside. After this, things took a turn for the worse.
An 8-year-old Michigan girl is being commended for her quick thinking that led to her helping save her 79-year-old great-grandmother. https://t.co/lsOLXzwwFG
— Good Morning America (@GMA) January 23, 2023
"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 didn't hesitate to jump into action, doing something she said she had seen her mom and family members do often. "I pulled the keys out [of the ignition]," the 8-year-old said. "I didn't know her foot was under there but I knew she could still get hurt because her body was under there," the second-grader added.
An 8-year-old Michigan girl is being commended for her quick thinking that led to her helping save her 79-year-old great-grandmother. https://t.co/qS2vdsL0Ta
— ABC News (@ABC) January 24, 2023
Mariah then got out of the car and quickly alerted her mom, Porchia Lane, who was home at the time. Her call for help was seen on the family's Ring doorbell camera as she reached the front door. "I thought it was a normal drop off and when I opened the door, I still didn't hear her screaming initially," Lane recalled. "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 was 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," she added.
Lane said she found her grandmother parallel to the car and saw that her foot and leg had gotten stuck under it but that somehow, Lynch had managed to move out from under the car. "Mariah was able to go grab a towel. We wrapped her leg up and caught the ambulance," Lane recounted. "She really thought fast," she added. Mariah revealed she felt scared and nervous when the incident occurred but afterward, she and her mom were able to visit her great-grandmother at Trinity Health Oakland Hospital, reported ABC.
Lane added "by the grace of God," her grandmother did not suffer any broken bones but did have to get stitches and blood infusions for bruises, blisters, and blood loss. The 79-year-old has been discharged and Lane said they plan on helping her through the next transition to physical therapy and recovery. Lane feels "proud" of her daughter's quick thinking and has a message for other parents.
"Know that your kids are always paying attention. I really talked to Mariah and instilled in her to just follow her heart and make the right decisions," Lane said. "It just makes me proud that she just was able to think fast and she probably was calmer than me in this situation because I would have been frantic."
References:
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/8-year-helps-save-great-grandmother-trapped-car/story
Cover Image Source: Youtube | WXYZ-TV Detroit
