A 12-year-old boy is being hailed a hero for saving his mom after she passed out at the wheel at 60 mph on a busy highway.
UK mom Nicola Crump and her son Zac were driving from their home in Wales to a market in Birmingham when Nicola started feeling hot. She pulled onto a narrow grass verge and switched her hazards on before losing consciousness. But her automatic car was still in drive and her foot jammed on the accelerator sending the vehicle veering back onto the fast road.
“All of a sudden the car started to speed up really fast,” Zac recalled. “I started screaming and I looked over and she was just passed out.” He realized he had to stop the vehicle. Since he couldn’t see over the dashboard, Zac stood up grabbed the steering wheel and steered toward the highway median strip. He bumped the car against the metal barrier until it scraped to a stop.
Most of us would be frozen in that passenger seat but he jumped into action and took the wheel.
Zac turned off the engine and used the car GPS to find their exact location for the emergency services. He called 999 and clearly explained the situation. In the recording he says “Basically I’m driving on a motorway and my mum just fainted so I had to crash the car to stop.”
Nicola was unconscious for about seven minutes but she started coming around while Zac was still on the phone. Waking up completely dazed she asked if they had crashed.
Zac calmly answered “Yeah, Mom, but we’re fine. Don’t worry.” He kept talking to his mom to calm her down while staying on the line. When Nicola fully realized what had happened she felt terrible and apologized to him. Zac quickly reassured her that he was fine and that he was just worried about her. He told her to hold his hand to comfort her but as she gripped it Nicola noticed he was physically trembling from the shock.
Paramedics found Nicola had extremely low blood pressure and she is waiting for cardiology tests. “If he wasn’t there that day I don’t think I’d be here now,” she said. The Zac Howells Pride of Britain recognition honored his bravery.
We don’t always expect a young person to act wisely in such a terrifying situation. We praise God for giving Zac the courage and wisdom he needed. Even while he was shaking he tried to comfort his mom. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 4:12 not to let anyone look down on us because we are young. Zac showed us that anyone can be an instrument in God’s hands for His purpose. This could have ended in tragedy, but God was clearly watching over this mother and son.
This story also reminds us how important it is to teach our kids what to do in an emergency. Teach them the basics, like calling emergency services and sharing their location on a phone. If they’re older, teach them CPR. The little effort we put in now could become a lifeline when we least expect it, for our own family or someone else’s.
Let us pray for Nicola’s complete healing and for peace as she faces her upcoming tests.
WATCH: Brave 12-Year-Old Boy Takes Control of Speeding Car After Mom Loses Consciousness
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