Phoenix girl honored for saving lives
May 14, 2013, 4:10 PM | Updated: 5:11 pm
PHOENIX — A 13-year-old girl was honored Tuesday after she jumped at the chance to save her life along with two others.
“I was really scared, but I am glad that I reacted the way I did,” Brooke Gerlach said of her experience.
Gerlach was in a car with a soccer teammate when the driver passed out at the wheel. Gerlach jumped into the front seat of the vehicle from the back and took control of the car, successfully avoiding on-coming traffic.
“I just kept my cool,” she said. “My main concern was safety.
“It was a very traumatizing experience, but I’m just grateful that everyone’s OK.”
The firefighters who treated the driver help present the Phoenix Fire Department’s Life Saving Award to Gerlach at Madison Meadows Middle School.