Fishermen trust their instincts and find crash with 2 girls
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — As their mother lay dead in the middle of the night, a 4-year-old Oregon girl dragged her seriously injured younger sister from a crashed car and the two huddled under a blanket — and waited.
With the mangled car stuck deep in the woods, and no skid marks on the highway, the crash site was nearly impossible to detect.
In fact, authorities estimate the sisters were alone in the frigid woods for several hours as many motorists passed it by Wednesday morning.
The children finally got help after two commercial fishermen spotted what appeared from a distance to be a basketball-sized gash in an alder tree along State Highway 401 between Astoria, Ore., and Naselle, Wash. Kraai McClure and Scott Beutler travel the two-lane road frequently, and had a gut feeling something was wrong.
The men slowed down, discussed the situation and decided to turn around and go take a look. McClure said he called 911 to see if there had been any reports of a wreck during the night. There weren't.
Beutler, who was a first responder when he lived in Mississippi, went into the brush and signaled McClure to alert authorities.
"I don't know exactly what told us to turn around, but I'm just really thankful we did," McClure said Thursday.
The men spotted the wrecked car a few hundred feet from the road. Nearby were the two young girls, scared and confused. "They could say their names but were totally in shock," McClure said.
The Washington State Patrol said the girls' mother, 26-year-old Jessica Rath of Astoria, probably was asleep when she veered off the road and struck the tree shortly after midnight. She died at the scene.
McClure and Beutler discovered the crash site around 8:30 a.m.
The 2-year-old, who had serious leg injuries, was flown to a Portland hospital. The 4-year-old was treated at an Astoria hospital and released.
An Oregon Health & Science University spokeswoman confirmed that the younger sister, Lylah Huff, was at Doernbecher Children's Hospital. The girls' father, Keaton Huff, declined interview requests Thursday and asked the hospital not to release his daughter's condition.
Trooper Russ Winger said investigators believe the 4-year-old, Aryanna Huff, pulled her sister from the vehicle and helped her to a spot about 20 feet away, where the fishermen found them. Winger said keeping warm with the blanket was vital with temperatures in the low 40s.
"Hypothermia sets in very quickly with something like that," Winger said. "They could have very well not been found and died of exposure."
Winger described the fishermen as heroes for acting on their hunch. McClure, however, gave the credit to Aryanna for helping Lylah out of the car and keeping her warm.
"She saved her sister," McClure said. "She was sharp enough. I don't know how she did it or anything else, but something was watching over those little girls."
"It was amazing that the little 4-year-old — I have a little 4-year-old, too, she's almost 5 — was able to get her little sister out and do that," he added. "It just blows my mind that she could do that in that situation. I don't know if she waited until morning, when they could see, but, you know, it just makes me want to cry."
Winger said investigators have yet to determine how fast Rath was driving, or whether there were any other factors in the crash. The crime blotter in the Jan. 26 edition of The Longview Daily News indicates Rath was sentenced to 10 days in jail for heroin possession and third-degree theft.
Two little girls, two and four years old twenty feet from the car, wrapped in a blanket in a bush, that my friends is the work of God's angels!
So the woman was on her way to pick her husband up... Why didn't he call to find his wife ?????????? Weird ..
@dougrpdx There is an other article that stated he was a fisherman, coming back in from a catch, and she was on her way to pick him up at one place - but they were diverted to another. That's where she was headed when this happened. Why didn't he call? Good question. Maybe he did, but we don't know that answer in this article.Â
What a brave little girl her family should be so proud it just goes to show how strong a sisters bond can be. It always brings tears to my eyes knowing there is still good people who listen to there hearts and follow there instincts. Great job Guys!!!
"Fishermen trust their instincts..."Â Â That says it all. Listen to your instincts, listen to your guts. It won't steer you wrong.
@whirledworld Exactly WW. People sense things and know that something is wrong, but then part of our brain kicks in that tries to rationalize it away. Trust your gut; check things out. Can you imagine how these guys would feel if they had talked themselves out of going back to check and those little girls had died? Remember, what will you lose by checking and making sure? Just a little time out of our typically eventful day.
@Scotty9 @whirledworld Well put, Scotty. We as a culture have used our brains and our corroded social views to doubt ourselves and to fear looking foolish if we are discovered to be mistaken in our hunches. Yet so many of us use our intuition and gut-feeling everyday on the job or tending to family, etc. We do indeed "know what we know".
Women especially have been shamed to be "ladylike" and ignore danger signs even when they are in danger of assault/rape/murder. I really like Gavin De Becker's book: The Gift of Fear" for everyone to read so they can recognize their own instincts and and polish them further to their own advantage whether to save themselves or others.
@whirledworld @Scotty9 Â
Indeed, the gift of fear. A good dose of fear will go a long way in keeping people safe. Unfortunately, many folks who find themselves in trouble, are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, which tends to deaden our "spider senses".Â
Gee whiz - sentenced to theft and heroin possession less than a month ago - and a month later she ends up killing herself behind the wheel of her car- while also doing her level addictive best to kill her innocent young children too?
That's what appears to have happened here.
Thanks for looking out for two young children's safety and welfare, State of Washington - returning this train wreck of a mother to these vulnerable young children.
I'm so glad they followed their gut instinct and turned around. They saved those babies lives. Can't (don't want to) imagine what would have happened to them had they not.
 And how about the father? Never bothered where his ride home is, where his family is. Not even more than 8 hours later.
I'm so glad they stopped. Even if it had turned out to be nothing it would have been just a few minutes extra. As it was, they saved lives. I hope those little ones have no memory of the accident and being afraid and cold.
The mother/driver:Â Jessica Marie Rath, 26, Astoria, 10 days in jail and $2,116 restitution for heroin possession and third-degree theft Nov. 30. Guilty plea Dec. 19. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â oh so sad in so many ways.........
@binky I was thinking, if the mother does drugs, then the 4-year-old probably has prior experience taking care of the 2-year-old AND the mom.
@GladiOla @binky Maybe , though, so cold comment.
@binky I am sure they will do a tox screen to see if the reason she was so sleepy was not natural.
Commendable actions by these two observant citizens.
How lucky for those girls that those men trusted their gut. Thank you for following through, many don't.
"It was amazing that the little 4-year-old â I have a little 4-year-old, too, she's almost 5 â was able to get her little sister out and do that," he added. "It just blows my mind that she could do that in that situation. I don't know if she waited until morning, when they could see, but, you know, it just makes me want to cry."
Me, too, Mr. McClure. Me, too. Thank God you two were in the right place at the right time to save these little girls. God bless you!
God has a purpose for their lives, that's why they're still here.Â
If the Dad has similar "issues" as the Mom did, I hope and pray that this will serve as his wake-up call... and that each and every day, he will remember what a precious gift he has been given to raise.
Thank God they listened to the angel whispering in their ear ..., "go back ... go back".Â
@R. Gess Smith Yes...You are definitely right about that. Â
Please, God, Keep these little angels alive and heal them!
(I don't believe I just did that, but it was the first thought that hit my keyboard)
mother was recently jailed for heroin possesion...I wonder if she was possibly stoned and was the cause of her going to sleep at the wheel! I'm sure they will do toxicology tests to find out.
@flyingtime Driving in a nod would take your attention away from the road
@flyingtime I hope not, because the girls just don't need to go through life with that on their mind.
@Playanekes @flyingtime Thank you, Play. It seems 100% irrelevant at this point.
Three outstanding heroes in this story. Thank Heavens for their decision to turn back.