Utah boy saves 3 children from crash that killed 1

[Buttercup]

SALT LAKE CITY — A 12-year-old Utah boy who dragged three younger children from a one-vehicle accident that killed their baby sitter said he knew he had to act fast.
"I remember we fishtailed and went off the edge," Cory Arnett of New Harmony, Utah, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The driver, Beth Donnelly, drifted off a steep, narrow mountain road on Monday and flipped her Ford Explorer, which landed nose first in a 15-foot stream bed. She was ejected from an open window and died instantly.
Donnelly's 3-year-old daughter and two other children, a 2-year-old girl and 4-year-old boy from another family, were left screaming inside the vehicle. Cory initially blacked out, then got out the younger kids, who had minor injuries.

The Associated Press: Utah boy saves 3 children from crash that killed 1

[irishmick]

Good job, Cory!

And yet another reminder to wear our seat belts.

[Jenna]

Well done!

[CTR man]

My hat is off to the young man.

Being familiar with the roads and not driving too fast for the conditions would be additional reminders. From what I was able to piece together from reading different articles, Donnelly was driving on a poorly maintained, steep, narrow, dirt and gravel canyon road that is often laden with snow and closed in the winter. Quite the remote area. Even 30 mph can be too fast in these conditions.

New Harmony is about 40 miles northeast of St George, UT, 160 miles northeast of Las Vegas and 275 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Boy hailed for action in fatal S. Utah rollover - Salt Lake Tribune

New Harmony » Twelve-year-old Cory Arnett was on a midday drive Monday with a neighbor and three preschoolers when he started feeling nervous about how fast they were traveling on the poorly maintained dirt canyon road.

Beth Donnelly, 23, was driving the 2003 Ford Explorer on Pace Canyon Road. In the backseat were her 2-year-old daughter, Berlin, another 2-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy.

"I put on my seat belt and next thing I knew we careened off the road and flipped, landing in the river bottom," Cory said Tuesday of the 2:30 p.m. accident.

He said he blacked out briefly.

"When I came to, kids were screaming and crying and the driver was lying out the door," he said.

"There was a 3-year-old boy wedged between the dashboard and windshield. I grabbed him and put him out on the bank and then got the others out one at a time."

Cory said Donnelly was face down and when he turned her over, he saw she was bleeding heavily and unresponsive. He said he began helping the boy up the 15-foot embankment by pushing him from behind. He then climbed up himself, holding one girl under his arm while the other clung to his leg.

Donnelly's daughter was screaming for her mother, but Cory said he knew he couldn't let her see her mom.

Once back on the road, Cory told the children to sit in the shade of a tree while he went for help in town about two miles away. He was walking down the road when he flagged down a woman in an all-terrain vehicle who turned out to be a nurse. She called paramedics from Cedar City and went back to the accident scene to check on the children. Amazingly, all of them were released after being checked at a local hospital.

Donnelly died at the scene.

[Napalm]

Outstanding action on this young man's part.
Apparently was able to keep his wits about him in a stressful situation.
Hope he gets a commendation!

[2 Blue 4 U]

That is one brave young man, Great Job!