There should be some very proud parents! Bravo to the child in taking action and doing what she needed to do to survive. Sometimes people can simply amaze!

Good example of survival of the fittest. Sad about her grandfather, but so glad the little girl was so quick and smart! Her grandfather would be so proud of her!

I agree. There's a definite silver lining to this thunderhead.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I always rethink my own habits after stories like this. How many of us were taken suddenly ill while driving?

It doesn't have to be a heart attack. Simply passing out at the wheel can prove just as deadly.

You owe it to your passengers and other motorists to pull over immediately--or, lacking a safe shoulder, to pull over as far as possible--if you suddenly feel incapable of controlling the vehicle.

Thoughts and prayers to the family of the deceased. Kudos to a quick-thinking youngster who may have done more than save her own life.

Miranda's angels guided the car toward safety. Didn't think they knew how to drive, now didja? ;)

YES! Brave quick thinking child.

Kids minds are certainly a lot quicker than adults when it comes to spontaneous critical thinking! She was lucky.

There have been many recent articles on runaway vehicles in the news the last couple of years. It is amazing that adults really don't know what to do, especially, if their gas peddle sticks down and won't return when foot pressure is released. People just outright panic as their vehicle careens out of control at increasingly higher speeds. A California Highway Patrol officer lost control of his personal vehicle which crashed killing all at high speed. Disconnecting the Drive Train from the Engine is essential to get the vehicle slowed while still having the power to the brakes and steering to control its direction effectively. By simply placing the the shifting lever in NEUTRAL will keep the vehicle from increasing in speed. The engine will continue to churn out very high revolutions but will be effectively DISCONNECTED from the Drive Train.

If your 'gas peddle' sticks........gently place the shifter in the NEUTRAL position; Coast to a stop in a safe area out of traffic if possible; And shut the vehicle OFF. This 12 year old certainly wasn't expected to know what to do, but she certainly did her best! She saved her own life and, perhaps, the lives of other motorists.

Almost everyone feels suddenly ill if they are having a life-threatening event. I think the best advice would be to pull over and put the car in park because it really isn't normal to suddenly feel very ill but also we don't know if this poor man or if we will have the ability to reason properly in a situation like that.

Thank God she watches TV.

<sarcasm>

From an OSHA and CPS perspective it was very wrong of her to act she should have waited for the Gov't to come rescue her. The grandfathers corpse should be charged with child endangerment and negligence for leave a child unattended in a moving vehicle.

</sarcasm>

The sad part is that the way we regulate and pass laws some people would actually agree with the above. I say Bravo to the young lady who showed bravery (acting despite fear). To the family I hope you are able to find solace in your time of loss.

Sorry for their loss, and I am glad she is okay, but what the hell:

“I didn’t know what to do. I took off my seat belt and slid over to put my foot on the brake, but I couldn’t stop it.”

How about first pull on her grandfather's leg so his foot comes off the gas and hit the brakes. Duhhhh.

Hello, she is just a child who was trying to survive!!! Do you really have to be so NEGATIVE??? You can't even say what you would have done in her position because YOU weren"t there.

Show your children how to turn the ignition key off! Once the cars in drive if you shut off the key (ignition) the engine cannot continue to run and since the cars in drive or even neutral the steering and brakes will still work to control the car.

Explain to them that this is only to be done if the person driving the auto has passed out or is non responsive. You could also show them how the brake pedal works etc but just turning off the ignition will at least start to slow the car and reduce injury, the rest is up to the parents to decide.

good advice muddie.... but if you turn off the engine, you do not have power steering or power brakes and for a 12 year old girl from the passenger seat, with someone in the driver seat, it would be hard to steer or brake with out power.
and most cars, when the key is in the off position, the steering wheel locks.
drop it in neutral would be best, but keep "turn the ignition key off" as a last fail safe.

Dead Eagle,

The steering will not lock when the car is in any gear other than "Park" (try it on your own car)

The ignition will only move back to where power is shut off to the coil of the engine stopping the engine from running,
On a diesel the ignition being turned back one notch will shut off power to the fuel solenoid so the engine will quit running.

Your brakes and steering will still work and I'll add the steering will be quit easy as long as the car is moving, the brakes might be a tad harder to push down but since the person (even a child) will have a ton of adrenalin going through them I would hope they would have enough strength to stop or slow the car.

Turing the ignition off is the easiest thing I think "A child" could do which will slow the car quite fast.
If a person can put the auto into neutral or even park that would be the best but its not as easy as one might think when your not sitting in the drivers seat.

I am a mechanic by trade and have done all of the above mentioned items to see which works easiest and turning the key off is still the best in my book.

The police can now disable a persons ignition (theft cases) through the same principle using the cars on-board computer system (On Star) (if its new enough) which if you have ever seen a video of that happening shows just what will happen. Hope this helps a little to explain it all.

Thanks for your reply though, its always nice to have another opinion to give people an option.

Smarter than NBC News Staff. What was she, guys, 12 years old or a teenager?

She was twelve.. Unless they got that wrong too. My god someone teach these guy how to write.

What?! I was always taught that 11-19 was the Teens......where'd y'all get educated?

NC open heart

What?! I was always taught that 11-19 was the Teens......where'd y'all get educated?

And when did you turn eleventeen?

the teens are the years that end in "teen". idiot.

NC, ages 11-12 are considered preteen ages. Ages 13-19 are teenagers. As people already pointed out, it's the "teen" at the end of the number that gives you the clue.

@State of Awareness actually it's 9/10 to 12 is considered Tweens as in between middle childhood (6 to 9/10) and adolescence (Teens 13 to 17/18).

What?! I was always taught that 11-19 was the Teens......where'd y'all get educated?

Teenage years start at 13, Scooter. Where do you see "teen" in the word "twelve"?

I agree, NBC News Staff...make up your minds, was she 12 or was she a teen?

Really???? You people are arguing logistics???? Aren't you totally diverging from the subject??? The IMPORTANT thing in this article is that the little girl is ALIVE due to her quick thinking. How many kids do you know who would do what she did? Most kids would sit there screaming their fool heads off instead of reacting. This was a very, very brave litte girl who's parents are extremely lucky that she was quick witted. Does it really matter how old she is or if she is a "teen" or "tween"? Come on, people, get back to the subject at hand and who really cares if she is a Teen or Tween. The important thing is that she is ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh please...preteen...teen is about development. I hit mine at 11.....but thanks for the love, here's some karma for you.....

@ NC open heart your GLP is showing

I can do that with my phone.

Tough to dial 911 without using the keypad and you can't get to the keypad without unlocking your phone (at least on most smartphones).

Not all officers are stupid enough to be trigger happy on issuing charges where the situation doesn't warrant a reaction. And those who do try it find the charges are overturned in court when there is efficient evidence stating that the victim had no choice to do what they did in a situation like this.

There's an article on MSNBC today about a guy who's hand got bitten off by an alligator being charged with illegal feeding.

There is a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE between what this young lady (doesn't matter 12 years old or a teenager) did and the moron who got his hand bitten off by an alligator! She was put into a serious situation by the death of her grandfather and she responded bravely and well; the moron on the other hand was a guide and knew FULL WELL that you should not feed gators and especially not just to show off! You can't fix stupid!

And Scuba, if he did that he should be. So many times stupid humans do illegal or idiotic things to animals (including feeding wild ones or ones where feeding is prohibited) and the animals suffer or are killed because they responded like animals.

This isn't the same at all and you know it, indigo.

Scubasteve, perhaps you should read that article a little more closely instead of just the headline. Witnesses confirmed he was trying to feed the alligator with a fish prior to the animal jumping and snapping the guy's hand off. So yes, he deserves getting charged as it is illegal to feed them due to the dangers it will cause as they naturally fear us but lose that fear if they are fed. But nice try to seem like you know what you are talking about.

Scubasteve those laws are in place because idiots feed bears, gators or even swans and the animals will learn people have food and will attack people to get it. The laws are there to protect idiots like the guy who lost his hand, and seeing as how he was used to being among gators, he should have known better.

How is any of this relavent to what happened to the little girl? People are so into themselves and their comments that they cannot keep their minds on the true subject at hand: this little girl was very brave and that is all we should be concerned about.

Proper reaction would be slip car into neutral, slowly and steadily lift hand brake to slow down (this is why its there, not just for parking), press hazard light button. When speed drops enough turn off ignition. I have been apart of many safety driving classes, that's the safest way to do it.

@ Kev

Your advice seems to be sound, but when you were 12 did you know to do all those things calm cool and all composed? For someone learning how to drive or already knows how is one thing, but from the sounds of it TV and hollywood were her only tooter on the matter.

Yo, Kev--

Given the girl's age, I'd say she did everything properly. Also, given her age, I doubt she's going to read your post.

Thanks for sharing though.

Just a note to all: if you are feeling "unwell" when driving, pull off to the side of the road immediately. It may be something as innocuous as a gas bubble, or something as deadly as this story points out. I recently experienced a mild dizzy spell (while driving). I pulled over immediately; got out of the car, walked around, jumped up and down, (and a few other things) and decided it was probably just fluid on the eardrum. (I have lots of allergy problems.) I did go to the doctor have it checked out, my self diagnosis was correct.

However, I'm no spring chicken, either. Had it been something more severe, I would have been a danger to everyone, and I know that. It's better being safe than sorry. Pull off to the side of the road and signal/call for help if you think your health is failing or if you are otherwise unable to safely continue.

Many condolences to the family for their loss. Many congratulations to the little girl for her quick thinking and calm head.

yeah i read about that in last months issue of common sense magazine.

That was my first thought, just turn off the ignition, car stops. If it don't, head for the bushes...

Great job girl you rock.

Your still here to tell your story, I give you two thumbs up!!

A lot of newer cars don't have keys.

And you have to have your foot on the brake to push the ignition button to start or stop the engine.

Not sure if you even can turn it off like that while it is moving.

Keyless ignitions present some problems.

If "God" was watching over the family he wouldn't have taken a 63 year old man and scared a young girl. If "God" was watching over he would have whispered to the man to stop driving.

Give the young girl credit.

I don't think any of the medications routinely prescribed for heart conditions preclude operating a motor vehicle. My mother had 'heart problems' my entire life (I'm 50 now), drove until she had a stroke at 80 (not while driving). Ironically the stroke was caused by having to go off of her blood thinners for a short period so that she could have minor surgery. If she hadn't done that she wouldn't have developed the clot that caused the stroke (and would, I expect, still be driving).

I see your explanation below...never mind.

Odds are it crashed into something as she said she needed to duck and cover at one point. But you can count on the reporters to not give the full story. Either way, the girl escaped unharmed physically.