A valiant 7-year-old survived her father's car crash. She died searching for help
A 7-year-old girl was looking for help in the dark when she died trying to save her dad.
It was about 3:30 a.m. Sunday. DeSandra Thomas was riding in her father’s car when he crashed into an abandoned vehicle along I-94 in Romulus, Mich., lost control and flew off the highway and through a fence, according to Michigan State Police.
The child feared her father was seriously hurt and so she fled on foot looking for someone, anyone, to help him, Lt. Michael Shaw told WDIV in Detroit.
“She didn’t care about herself,” Anthony Burts, a family member, wrote on a GoFundMe page intended to support the family. “She was racing against time to save her father as anyone with a heart of gold would have.”
Shaw said the child appeared to have climbed over the fence and started walking along the freeway. At some point she sent a text message to 911 to tell dispatchers her dad was in trouble, possibly even dead — but authorities struggled to pinpoint her location, Shaw said.
“We are just taken aback that we couldn’t find her before something happened,” Shaw told Fox 2.
A second 911 call came in just as police were trying to find her. This one was from a woman. She feared she hit a pedestrian crossing I-94. But it was dark. She couldn’t see anyone on the road. Nor could state troopers when they showed up with flashlights, searching throughout the area, Shaw told WDIV.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/07/17/a-valiant-7-year-old-survived-her-fathers-car-crash-she-died-searching-for-help/?utm_term=.4f3c1964719b