A group of students in Utah became heroes when they lifted a car to save a school staffer and her two kids, KSL-TV reported Wednesday.
The incident, which was captured on the school’s surveillance camera, took place Tuesday afternoon, according to KSL-TV. Bridgette Ponson along with her two-year-old son and three-year-old daughter found themselves in danger when a driver backed up into them trapping them under the vehicle, the outlet reported.
“I hear all these commotions, people telling me, ‘Come help, come help!’ so I drop my stuff and ran over,” said sophomore Theo Roach, per KSL-TV. His actions were mirrored by at least 20 other students who gathered to lift the car. (RELATED: Man Trapped For 6 Hours In Upside Down Car After Swerving Off Bridge)
“I ran inside, I told everybody, ‘Call the police,'” added eighth grader Utulei Simaumea told the outlet. “I looked under the car, and the baby was lying there. And the mom was like, ‘Help! Help! Help!'”
Exclusive video of high school boys and girls at Layton Christian Academy coming to the rescue of a mom and child trapped underneath a car. See the story only on @KSL5TV at 10. pic.twitter.com/iFn0GU7ufb
— Dan Rascon (@TVDanRascon) December 6, 2023
As the students lifted the car, Dominique Childress — a U.S. Air Force serviceman who was there picking up his kids — assisted in the rescue, according to the outlet. The children were quickly pulled to safety. “Baby was unconscious, baby’s face was purple,” Childress said, per KSL-TV. “His body was in certain ways you don’t expect.”
The two children suffered no serious injuries, while Ponson is expected to undergo several surgeries but is on the path to recovery, the outlet noted.
Childress expressed immense pride in the students’ selfless act. “They are the purest form of the word hero and they deserve every single bit of praise and worship that they’ve gotten because what they did was not easy for a teenager to do,” he said, per KSL-TV.