Good Samaritans Rescue Mother, Daughter After Crash On NH Highway
MANCHESTER, NH (CBS) - A mother and daughter were trapped in an overturned car on a New Hampshire highway and they were rescued by Good Samaritans and State Police Tuesday evening.
Army Specialist Lee Kershaw was one of the many who pulled over to help.
"There was about six guys trying to get the door open," said Kershaw. "Someone had a fire extinguisher and was putting the fire out."
Kershaw says the 6-year-old child was pulled out but nobody could rescue the mom, identified by investigators as 35-year-old Michelle Maslanka.
"There was one guy that was just beast-mode trying to get that door open," said Kershaw. "They couldn't get it open."
Kershaw says an off-duty nurse administered first aid to the child on the side of the road.
"So I introduced myself to the little girl and asked if she wanted to sit on my lap and we sat down together and I kind of turned her so she was looking away from the accident," said Kershaw.
Investigators say Maslanka was driving on I-93 when she somehow lost control of her Subaru Outback and hit a rocky ledge.
There are skid marks on the road.
It's unclear why she lost control of her car.
"Whether there was a medical event or some distraction or whatever the case may be but it was a significant crash," said Maj. David Parenteau with the New Hampshire State Police.
Maslanka would be freed from the car by troopers with help from those Good Samaritans.
"It was definitely a group effort and the people that were trying to get the mom out of that car were just unstoppable," said Kershaw. "I have never seen anything like that in my life."
Maslanka is in critical condition with a neck injury, according to her husband who spoke to WBZ-TV by phone.
The child was treated and released.
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