Two teenage boys were heading home just after midnight when they came across a horrifying car crash.
Hunter Hasenjaeger, 16, and 17-year-old Collin Barry, from Minooka, Illinois, spotted a car completely totalled on the driver’s side and knew they had to get out to check the passengers.
These two young men came upon a pregnant mother in the driver’s seat, deceased but desperately clinging onto her one-year-old baby in the back. They realized they had to act fast.
The teens had initially stopped after seeing the front of the Chrysler 300 totalled on the driver’s side. As they approached the car all they could hear was the sound of a baby crying at the top of her lungs.
Hunter and Collin then saw 27-year-old Alexis Danley, who was six months pregnant when she died.
Alexis’ hand was reaching back to grab the baby seat, where her one-year-old daughter was sitting, completely terrified.
The police hadn’t yet arrived, so the teens worked together to get the one-year-old out.
‘I felt a connection’
Since he helped rescue the baby, Hunter has visited the victim’s family and brought food and a stuffed animal for the girl.
“I didn’t even know her name but I felt a connection,” he told WGN9. “I think I did what any person should have done. That’s just how I was raised.”
The man who struck and killed Alexis would later be arrested for driving under the influence.
Watch these brave boys recall their actions on this fateful evening in the video below:
[arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iq12z85Ifg” /]
It was a tragedy, what happened that evening, and my heart goes out to the victim’s family.
Thank goodness there are responsible teenagers in the world like Hunter and Collin who may have saved this child’s life. They are such a great example.
Please share to pay tribute to the mom who lost her life and the young men who rescued her child.
