Twin girls, 4, hiked from scene after car accident
Twin 4-year-old girls escaped a fatal car crash by unbuckling their car seats and hiking for help, Washington state officials confirmed.
The crash killed their father, Corey Simmons, 47, after the car careened off a road Friday evening and into a wooden area, KING-TV and CNN reported. Simmons sustained head injuries.
He was not wearing a seat belt, officials told USA TODAY.
The twins extricated themselves from the wreckage by climbing out of the broken back window of the vehicle and 200 feet up an embankment back to the road on Whidbey Island about 34 miles north of Seattle, Trooper Heather Axtman told USA TODAY.
As soon as they approached the side of a highway, an unidentified good Samaritan spotted them. She sheltered them in her car while they waited to be taken to the hospital, Axtman said.
The girls were treated for minor injuries and were reunited with family.
“I have kids of my own and typically, kids are scared of the dark and the woods,” Axtman told USA TODAY. “They overcame these fears because they knew their dad needed help, and that is so heroic,” she said.
Axtman told KING-TV that officials contacted the Samaritan, who didn’t want her identity to be made public.
The cause of the crash is under investigation. Axtman said the crash took place on a rural stretch of highway that did not have lighting.
“This story will stick with me because of the bravery and heroic actions of these little girls,” she said.