7-year-old girl helps save family after their car crashes in West Virginia

One family in Kermit, West Virginia, is home safe after being associated with a serious car wreck last week.

“It was around 11 p.m. and my grandmother lives just a few houses down from us,” said Emily Springer. “I decided for (me and my girls) to go down there and it wasn’t even a quarter of a mile away from my house when our car crashed.”

Springer was driving her car along Marrowbone Creek Road in the Kermit area last Monday when she happened to have lost control and the car went over an embankment, ending up upside down in a creek. Both her 2-year-old daughter and 7-year-old daughter were sitting in the backseat.

After the crash, Springer said she asked her 7-year-old, Kenadie Springer, if she was able to leave the car and Kennadie then left the car.

“I was scared but I knew what to do: get out,” Kenadie Springer said.

Once she was out of the freezing water, regardless of the 30-degree weather, she went door-to-door yelling for help. Meanwhile, Emily and her 2-year-old were stuck inside the car.

“There wasn’t a lot of air, the water had filled up to our chin and that’s when I started screaming for help and praying,” Springer said. “I could hear my daughter Kenadie screaming for help at the neighbor’s house.”

Springer said she and her other daughter were in the car for almost 15 minutes, but they eventually discovered their way out.

“The fire department (and) everybody that has looked at my vehicle, really can’t believe that we made it out,” she said. “That we were physically able to, let alone (be) alive.”

Along with scratches and bruises, Springer’s 2-year-old daughter had a broken femur and was flown to Cabell Huntington Hospital where she was admitted as a result of the crash.

All are home and recovering now.

“It (was) late at night, cold and stuff and most kids would’ve stayed there but she went out and actually got help for her family, that’s what makes her a hero,” Lt. Cain Maynard with Kermit Volunteer Fire Department said.

Maynard later rewarded Kenadie with a certificate for her heroic act that night.

“I’m proud of you, and the fire department is proud of you,” said Lt. Maynard to Kenadie.

Kermit fire officials believe black ice was a reason behind the crash.