The grandfather of two toddlers who survived for days in a ravine alone and hungry after an Arkansas car crash that killed their mother, has said his elder grandson is a hero.
The 3-year-old boy was found wandering on a highway in Arkansas on Monday, and a search of the area led authorities to the wreckage, where his 1-year-old brother was still strapped in by a seat belt and his mother, Lisa Holliman, lay dead.
“When he climbed out that car, seeing his mother lying there dead like she was, he tried to wake his mama up,” James Holliman, Lisa’s father, told ABC affiliate in Little Rock KARK-TV on Tuesday.
The 3-year-old, Kylen, had crawled out of his car seat after the crash, made his way out through the sunroof, and climbed up a hill filled with bushes until he reached the highway where he was spotted, KARK-TV reported.
Local law enforcement officials expressed shock that the young toddlers were able to survive alone for so long, describing it as a “miracle”. There was no water or food recovered from the vicinity of the crash.
The children’s mother was ejected from her driver’s seat by the force of the crash, officials said.
“I’ll never get up and see her, I’ll never get to talk to her, laugh with her. My baby’s gone,” James Holliman said.
Ouachita County Sheriff’s Detective Nathan Greeley — one of the first officials to meet the 3-year-old after he was found — told ABC News the child was found to have suffered some cuts and scrapes, but appeared most desperate for the comfort of human contact.
“He just wanted to hug me,” Greeley said. “And didn’t want to let go.”
He said the 3-year-old saved his brother’s life by walking out to the highway, because the crah could not be seen from the road.
“Had not he done what he did, his brother probably wouldn’t be here right now,” he said.
Greeley estimated that the vehicle could have been at the bottom of the ravine since Thursday, meaning the little survivors could have been lost and exposed to the elements for as long as four days before being located.
“They went through pure hell,” he added. “It is completely amazing that not only did they survive that long, but that the 3-year-old was able to walk out the way that he did.”
Both children were taken to a local hospital and the 1-year-old was treated for dehydration.
Lisa Holliman had lost control of the car while driving, which then struck a guardrail and overturned into a ditch, Arkansas State Police officials said in their summary report of the crash.
