Injured kids found along highway after crash kills mother
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NASELLE, Wash. -- Two young girls spent several hours in darkness alongside a crash site where their mother had been killed until they were found by a passing driver early Wednesday morning, the Washington State Patrol said.
The crash happened around midnight Wednesday about seven miles south of Naselle on Highway 401 in Pacific County.
Troopers say 26-year-old Jessica Rath was on her way to pick up her husband, who is a fisherman. But the car ran off the road and struck a tree, killing the mother and injuring her 4- and 2-year-old daughters inside.
State police said it appears Rath fell asleep at the wheel.
It wasn't until hours later that a passer-by saw the marks on the road and then discovered the kids nearby. Both kids were taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria, Ore. with serious injuries -- the 2-year-old with very serious injuries, troopers said. Both children were transferred to OHSU in Portland.
Investigators say the 4-year-old may have pulled the 2-year-old from the car and kept her warm with a blanket.
Troopers also praised the passer-by for the person's awareness in spotting the wreckage deep within a wooded area off the highway.
Photo courtesy: Washington State Patrol
"Full marks and Well done is all you can say to the person who took the time to find these baby girls at this crash," Trooper Russ Winger tweeted.
Both girls suffered broken bones. The 2-year-old was still in the hospital Wednesday night.
Winger said the girls could have easily died if they had been out there for any longer.
"It may be that they stayed down in there and got hypothermia very easily down there," he said. "They were out there for hours in the dark."
The crash is still under investigation.
KATU News reporter Emily Sinovic contributed from Portland, Ore.
The crash happened around midnight Wednesday about seven miles south of Naselle on Highway 401 in Pacific County.
Troopers say 26-year-old Jessica Rath was on her way to pick up her husband, who is a fisherman. But the car ran off the road and struck a tree, killing the mother and injuring her 4- and 2-year-old daughters inside.
State police said it appears Rath fell asleep at the wheel.
It wasn't until hours later that a passer-by saw the marks on the road and then discovered the kids nearby. Both kids were taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria, Ore. with serious injuries -- the 2-year-old with very serious injuries, troopers said. Both children were transferred to OHSU in Portland.
Investigators say the 4-year-old may have pulled the 2-year-old from the car and kept her warm with a blanket.
Troopers also praised the passer-by for the person's awareness in spotting the wreckage deep within a wooded area off the highway.
Photo courtesy: Washington State Patrol
"Full marks and Well done is all you can say to the person who took the time to find these baby girls at this crash," Trooper Russ Winger tweeted.
Both girls suffered broken bones. The 2-year-old was still in the hospital Wednesday night.
Winger said the girls could have easily died if they had been out there for any longer.
"It may be that they stayed down in there and got hypothermia very easily down there," he said. "They were out there for hours in the dark."
The crash is still under investigation.
KATU News reporter Emily Sinovic contributed from Portland, Ore.
Is there a fund for this family? Thanks.Â
 I am crying hard right now. Just watching the 11:00 news tonight. There was no reason for you to post photos of this crashed car on television....Why would you do this? Some of the family might not have wanted to see that.  Sensationalism.  Unnecessary and Thoughtless on your part. What about the pain and suffering of the husband and family?Â
   Your reporting has lost much of my respect. Ignorance.
   My 25 yr old son was killed last year in a car accident, on black ice, on the way to go snowboarding. People were posting photos on Facebook right away....You have no idea how much It took to see my son's car.
   Blessings to the (angel) man that saved the girls.
@blue LOL are you freaking kidding me? It's a picture of a crashed car, deal with it. Avoid my Facebook page you'll cry yourself to sleep for weeks.
Sad. Sad. Just so very very sad. Reading this story and imaging these young children's lives now - without their mother. Sad.
God bless the total stranger/passerby who rescued these two young girls - and saved their lives.
How heart-breaking.Â
The four year old is an amazing big sister and mature beyond her years. I am just in awe of this little girl. I hope they both recover fully, and they along with their father can begin to put the pieces of their lives back together. This story just rips your heart out and melts it at the same time. Prayers for the family at his difficult time.
Dear God, please bless, watch over and empower our little ones...even if doing so requires my life. As heartbreaking as this story is...I find that little girls courage absolutely uplifting and encouraging. This is humanity at it's finest...
That absolutely sucks!!! The husband is waiting on the wife to pick him up, little does he know that she is dead and his two children are severely injured. Kudos to the big sister, great job.
What a heartbreaking story...... yet what an amazing big sister
I'm a man..and I'm not ashamed to admit this story makes me cry. Horrible..absolutely horrible. Those poor kids and poor father. Major props to the driver who saw the signs, and decided to investigate. Those kids are alive because of that person. They will be scarred for life, but they will live, and I pray that they do something special with their lives. I pray that the father finds a loving woman, who will not replace their mother, but who will love these girls as her own, and serve as the role model their mother would have wanted. Peace..Â
Heard on the radio news this morning that the two-year-old has a collapsed lung and two broken legs. I really am stunned at the little 4 year old who pulled her sister out of the car with those injuries, and then put a blanket over her to keep her warm. That little 4 year old is definitely a hero to her younger sister!
This is so sad. That 4 yr old will always remember...
If you have to be somewhere and are falling asleep at the wheel, take a $100 bill and wad it up and hold it out the window with your left hand while driving. If you loose that $100 then you better pull over or you will kill yourself and/or someone else because you didn't plan correctly.
You can then use that $100 to help with the medical bills for frostbite.
@Billy Batts Wow. I like that!
The AP had an article about this that stated : "The mother had driven Tuesday night to the Hoquiam, Wash., area to pick up her fisherman husband but then headed south when she found out her husband's boat was headed elsewhere, the trooper said."
I am heartbroken to read this story but amazed by the people who thought to stop and check it out just because they noticed a gash in a tree and also the fact that the 4yr old was wise beyond her years to take care of her sister in that way.
If you ever feel like you're falling asleep at the wheel, find the nearest safe place to pull over, get out, and get some fresh air. If it's cold, it might wake you up a bit more. If you're still drowsy, take a nap in the car, but not while driving. If someone's expecting you at a certain time, call ahead to let them know you'll be late.
OK???
Kudos to the alert motorist. But I have to wonder why there wasn't a search on when the mother failed to show up to pick up her husband? Seems like it would have been reported and her route would be searched. No indication from the article that police were even aware anyone was missing.
@ormom I read on another site that the husband told her to head home that he was heading to a different port so he would see her at home.  Maybe he hadn't arrived at home yet and was under the impression she went home.  I don't know for certain, but it's possible I guess. Â
Prayers and condolences to the husband, daughters, and the extended family and friends of the mother that died. Rest in Peace.
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@Dr. Rawdog Be a little more considerate and a lot more compassionate. We all know that driving while sleepy is dangerous. Doesn't need to be dragged through the mud.Â
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@Dr. Rawdog @washcomom That's weak Dr...weak. You're stirring the pot and got your # called.
@Playanekes Careful there, unsweetpea.  You absolutely KNOW if there weren't kids involved in this tragedy, everybody would have been bashing on the woman for driving impaired.  And she WAS driving impaired.  Not drunk, perhaps, but the outcome was the same.  There was an Hispanic woman about 2 months ago that was driving in the middle of the night on Hwy 26 with a kid or two in the car.  And while she WAS DUI, the bashing was unmercilessness.  Is it not hypocritical to bash on one and not the other?  Interestingly, in the case of the Hispanic woman, the children were fine.   Â
@Sundowner @kramr @Dr. Rawdog "Gun-crazy cops" "They should have made sure it was a gun"  "It doesn't take three cops"
Don't worry. You folks and your armchair investigators will always find somebody to sue.
@Dr. Rawdog @washcomom NOBODY'S BASHING ON THE MOM, and then you come along and invoke the words, and then when somebody calls you on it, you accuse OTHER "primates" of saying something after you JUST ASKED why nobody was doing it.
Pat yourself on the back there, big guy. For the rest of us, it's like watching a snake swallow it's tail.
@dr. rawdog For some chumps on here, I think they done got themselves a deal on some Chinese made hypocrisy and idiocy at All-American Dollar Tree, or WalMart
@kramr @Dr. Rawdog I disagree.  The only difference in this story and so many others is that there are children involved, both of whom survived.  If there'd been no children involved (tugging at the heartstrings), everyone here would have been saying something to the effect of, "She brought this on herself by not pulling over", "Responsibility lies entirely with the driver", "Don't drive when you're too tired".  You know that.
@Dr. Rawdog @washcomom
""""""" I am parroting the primates on this site."""""""
You are parroting no one but yourself.....
@Dr. Rawdog ..Dude..I really appreciate your sense of humor. You make me laugh..pretty much everyday..and as much as I hate to be PC, I think in this instance..well..my heart is so heavy for the little girls and their father..and their family and friends, that this time..I can't get myself to go along. I used to be one of the most sarcastic, jaded, and cynical people on this planet. And I still can be..but as I get older, I also realize that to be that way all the time..is relaly a dead end. Compassion, passion, nad joy and carign about others is a good thing. Peace
@Dr. Rawdog @washcomom You are an often misunderstood man, Dr. I understand though.
@dr. rawdog The arts of sarcasm, and satire are sometimes lost on this crowd
@Dr. Rawdog @washcomom I think its implied that this woman's irresponsibility cost her children a life with their mother. What would like to do pee on her grave?Â
Wow, the passing motorist is really a hero.. I hope this kids are ok ..
My Dorian is off to the passerby that noticed this tragedy!! Spent too many years working Traffic Homicide and never investigated anything like this - we wonder why cops take things involving kids so seriously...
I can't even find the words. The little ones spent injured hours alone, near their deceased mother.
So sad, beyond tragic.
I really hate reading articles like this... Heartbreaking; my prayers go out to everyone affected by this tragedy.
My heart goes out to the dad and to his girls. Wow. Just so sad.Â
I have to wonder if the kids were in car seats. Car seats are very good at protecting kids and I have seen some horrendous crashes and the kids in the car seats were fine.
@RalphCramden Considering the car is down the ravine, I would think that the girls were in car seats. Otherwise, the girls would be gone as well. The older one probably could unbuckle herself and get the younger one out. Most 4-5 year olds are pretty great at buckling and unbuckling themselves.Â
@washcomom @RalphCramden Yea, looking at what you can see of the car, I don't see how they would have survived if they hadn't been in car seats.Â
@washcomom @RalphCramden
KGW has a picture of the vehicle:
%s
Looking at the vehicle, their injuries seem minor compared to what could have happened.
This is a very sad story Condolences to the family, will say prayers for the children. I would say a guardian angel watched over these two babies to keep them safe during the long cold night. Â
@granny4life Yes, too bad the mother didn't have a guardian angel...
How tragic! Â Hope the babies recovery is fast!
This is so sad.. I hope the girls will recover quickly.. That poor man.. Lost his wife & both of his daughters are injured..The mother was so young too..Â
High Praise to the passerby that found them! That's what I call observant! Thankfully, he/she found the girls before too much time had passed or before some creep could find them. Sounds like the little 4 yr old was smart- got the younger one out of the car.Â
My heart goes out to all of them.Â
@cwpholder Yep I remember the elderly lady that spent a week in her car after going off the road. Dad is lucky that this person was paying attention and took the time to check it out or he could have lost his entire family.
What a sad story.  The mother dies, the father doesnt get picked up, the 2 yo is VERY seriously injured, etc. I hope things get better for the little girls pretty quickly.
That's a worst nightmare. The poor 4 yr old had to grow up way too quickly all of the sudden. RIP to the mom, kudos and best wishes to the poor kids, hope they come out OK and learn to cope.
Awful! Hopefully they're young enough that they won't remember. Condolences to the father in this family.
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@TheUglyTruth The two-year-old is hospitalized with "very serious injuries". She's not really "OK".