When her grandfather died at the wheel of the car, with his foot on the accelerator, 12-year-old Miranda Bowman didn't waste a moment.
As the car approached 80 mph last Tuesday, Bowman tried to call 911 but couldn't unlock her cellphone, the AP reports. So she took off her seatbelt and slid over in the front seat, pushed the brake and steered in the direction of some bushes and trees on the side of the road.
Bowman, who was going back to her home in Burlington Township, N.J., after a day of go-kart racing with 63-year-old Paul Parker, escaped the crash with no injuries, according to the news outlet.
Parker, who had a chronic heart condition, died of heart failure, say relatives. "He said he didn't feel well and told me to just keep talking to him," Miranda told the Burlington County Times. "Then he said he was scared, closed his eyes, and put his head on the glass. That's when I knew he was dead."
Though the family is heartbroken over their loss, Bowman's parents are understandably proud of their daughter. "She is my hero," Stephanie Bowman, Miranda's mother and the daughter of Paul Parker, told PhillyBurbs.com.
"As much as I am upset about losing my father, I can't even imagine how worse this could have been," she added.
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