A 9-year-old Southern California girl is getting attention from across the country after she survived an SUV crash in a canyon, crawled out of the vehicle and hiked nearly two miles to get help for her dad, who remained trapped in the Ford Escape. Her father eventually died from his injuries.
But that hasn't stopped the fascination with Celia Renteria's heroics. Her story has spread from local Southern California media to national outlets, including the websites of National Public Radio and the New York Daily News. Celia was treated for minor injuries at Children's Hospital Los Angeles
According to the Associated Press, Celia and her father, Alejandro Renteria, 35, were inside the 2010 Ford Escape about 1 a.m. on Sunday when it tumbled down a canyon on a stretch of the Sierra Highway near Soledad Canyon Road northern Los Angeles County.
After the SUV crashed, Celia was sure her father was still alive, so she pulled herself up the rocky embankment and and began her journey to find him help. First, Celia found a nearby home but said nobody there answered the door, the AP reported. So she kept walking, eventually making her way nearly 2 miles to a commuter rail station in Acton and getting the attention of a driver, who stopped about 2:30 a.m. The driver alerted authorites, the AP reported.
"What was most remarkable was her commitment to her father and to try to get him aid under very challenging circumstances. It's very cold out here. It's also very barren. We have coyotes out here that were also howling. So it's kind of a creepy environment for a young girl to show and demonstrate such courage and commitment to her father," California Highway Patrol Sgt. Tom Lackey told KCAL9′s Art Barron.
CHP is investigating what caused the SUV to leave the road and fall down the canyon and said alcohol might be a factor.
