An 8-year-old girl acted swiftly to help save her great-grandmother, who herself was attempting to protect her from serious harm.
On Wednesday, Jan. 11, Mariah Galloway was on her way home from school when a horrific accident almost changed the course of her great-grandmother Patricia Lynch’s life.
Footage from the family’s Ring doorbell captured the entire ordeal, showing how in one split moment, the matriarch went from being in control of the SUV to being dragged under it, ABC 7 reports.
“So, she was picking me up from school, and she thought the car was in park, but it was in reverse, and she got out, and it started moving, and she was trying to stop it because I was in it,” said Mariah.
The 79-year-old risked her life, throwing herself in front of the rolling Chevy Equinox, hoping to impede the truck and ensure Mariah was not harmed. But in the effort, she slipped under the front tire on the driver’s side and got her leg and foot stuck.
Seeing her great-grandmother in distress, Mariah sprung into action.
“I pulled the keys out [of the ignition],” the proud young girl said.
After Mariah pulled out the keys, the truck stopped, and Mariah ran to get her mother, Porchia Lane.
“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 said.
“I thought it was a normal drop off, and when I opened the door, I still didn’t hear her screaming initially,” Lane remembered. “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, too, stepped into action by calling for an ambulance.
Lane was able to get her foot from under the SUV, saying, “It was a miracle because I don’t know how that happened.”
Mom and daughter worked together until EMT arrived to relieve them.
“Mariah was able to go grab a towel. We wrapped her leg up and caught the ambulance,” Lane recounted.
Emergency professionals arrived and transported Lynch to Trinity Health Oakland Hospital, where she was able to receive a blood transfusion to compensate for her substantial blood loss.
According to an interview with “Good Morning America,” Lynch did not sustain any broken bones. She did, however, have to get stitches for bruises.
Plans are in the works for her to start physical therapy after she recovered from her injuries.
On Saturday, Jan. 14, two days before her birthday, Mariah’s mom threw her a surprise sleepover party. Her friends came over, and they played in pink teepees with lights in celebration of this extraordinary girl.
This party replaced a skating party that was planned. Instead, Mariah opted to spend Sunday with the person who risked so much for her.
“She was trying to save Mariah, and here Mariah saved her,” Lane said.
When asked about how she feels about her daughter, Lane shares how “proud” she is of how Mariah responded and remembered lessons about safety.
“It just makes me proud that she just was able to think fast,” she continued. “And she probably was more calm than me in this situation because I would have been frantic.”
“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.
