SCARY news story! (Kids in a sinking minivan!)

Michi · Oct 18, 2007

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/18/van.rescue/index.html

I love the last line of the story!

Troopers told WKMG that car seats helped save the children.
"They could have been thrown underneath the floorboard or in the front seat and then time would have been wasted for those rescuers trying to find them."

ThreeBeans · Oct 18, 2007

I read that same article earlier tonight and would have posted it here for the same reason if I hadn't had a baby on the booby, LOL.

amy919 · Oct 19, 2007

I read that article yesterday, too.

I can't understand why their MOTHER wasn't diving down looking for them.

ThreeBeans · Oct 19, 2007

amy919 said:
I read that article yesterday, too.

I can't understand why their MOTHER wasn't diving down looking for them.

Yeah, me too

The only thing I could think of was maybe she couldn't swim

amy919 · Oct 19, 2007

ThreeBeans said:
Yeah, me too

The only thing I could think of was maybe she couldn't swim

I know people react differently in situations like this, but I know enough about myself to know that I would NOT stand by while my kids are drowning and scream for someone else to help. I'd rather die trying to save my kids than live without them.

Simplysomething · Oct 19, 2007

Yeah, and that just adds another person in the water to be rescued.

Fact is you don't know WHAT you'd do in that situation until you are IN that situation. You wanna feel superior to the mother in the story, fine... but come on, you really DON'T know.

Morganthe · Oct 19, 2007

Simplysomething said:
Yeah, and that just adds another person in the water to be rescued.

Fact is you don't know WHAT you'd do in that situation until you are IN that situation. You wanna feel superior to the mother in the story, fine... but come on, you really DON'T know.

Exactly! Plus, if she is in the water trying to save her kids, who else would know that the kids, and not her, needed help?

Would anyone even realize that there were kids in the van if she hadn't directed rescuers to them?

So much time could have been wasted. With drowning incidents, every second matters!

A perfect ending to a perfect rescue

amy919 · Oct 19, 2007

Simplysomething said:
Yeah, and that just adds another person in the water to be rescued.

Fact is you don't know WHAT you'd do in that situation until you are IN that situation. You wanna feel superior to the mother in the story, fine... but come on, you really DON'T know.

It's a valid point, but I really think my instinct would be to save my kids. It might not be the BEST decision, I'm just being honest.

I'm glad the situation all worled out!

jen_nah · Oct 19, 2007

I am a CPR Instructor and the first thing we tell parents in our classes is "Protect yourself first b/c if you are hurt you are not help to your child."

How ever you look at it this mother did save her children by directing the rescue personal where her children where. If she had gone in and didn't know how to swim and no one was around. There would be 3 bodies they would be pulling out of the water instead of just a van.

mcomommy · Oct 19, 2007

That is so scary, I don't know what I would do but I do know that I would be freaking out!

Jeanum · Oct 19, 2007

I thought the same thing at first, why didn't the mom or other adults try to get the kids out, as a mom it's pretty hard not to think like that immediately when hearing this sort of story. It's also possible the mom was in shock from the rollover, etc. It's good that she was conscious and could alert the rescue personnel about the children in the vehicle, and I'm glad the kiddos were rescued regardless of what or how it happened. That's a happy ending and let's not armchair quarterback it. :twocents:

Defrost · Oct 19, 2007

Keep in mind that she had one child out alive already. It's almost certain that her mothering instincts took over and decided for her that she needed to stay with the child who was with her.

I've reports about things like this (talk about food for nightmares!) and mothers in situations like this invariably "choose" the child who has the best chance of survival. It's never a conscious decision - it just happens, and afterward they cannot explain it.

I'm just glad there were others who were willing and able to rescue her other children. What a horrible, terrifying experience.

amy919 · Oct 19, 2007

Defrost said:
Keep in mind that she had one child out alive already. It's almost certain that her mothering instincts took over and decided for her that she needed to stay with the child who was with her.

I've reports about things like this (talk about food for nightmares!) and mothers in situations like this invariably "choose" the child who has the best chance of survival. It's never a conscious decision - it just happens, and afterward they cannot explain it.

I'm just glad there were others who were willing and able to rescue her other children. What a horrible, terrifying experience.

I totally missed that she had one child out already. This could have been a horrible tragedy. Luckily, there were people able to jump in and help. I can't even imagine how terrified she must have been.

Mama! · Oct 19, 2007

I dont know if I want to open that.

Being in a submerged vehicle is truly one of the scariest things I can think of. I would hope that I could reach back and undo my kids out of the carseats and hopefully make it to the surface. But I dont know.

Thank God they made it out alright.

SCARY news story! (Kids in a sinking minivan!)

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