In a miraculous turn of events, a 12-day-old baby managed to survive a freak bus crash that took place near the California-Arizona border on Wednesday morning and killed four passengers.
According to reports, Ana Perez was breastfeeding her newborn when the bus, traveling from El Paso, Texas to Los Angeles, struck a bunch of steel pipes that had been scattered across the freeway from an earlier crash. With no streetlights and little moonlight, police say the pipes were almost impossible for the driver to see and by the time they came into view of the bus's headlights, it was too late to swerve away. But when she felt the jolt, Perez sprung into action to try and protect her baby's safety.
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As the bus rolled over and ended up on its side about 50 feet off the freeway, the 32 passengers on board were thrown every which way. Perez says she wrapped her arms protectively around her baby, Daniela, and held on for dear life. Four were killed in the crash, including two sitting right next to the mother and daughter, and 14 more were treated for injuries. But amazingly, both Perez and little Daniela survived and were helped off the bus by rescuers. Perez suffered some minor bruising and Daniela was not injured at all.
"I didn't let her go," Perez said, adding that the bus driver appeared to do "everything he could" to avoid the pipes. "It was a miracle."
Wow … this was obviously a terrible accident and I'm just glad the baby and her mom are somehow OK. I can't even imagine how frightened that mom must have been but clearly, her instincts kicked into play and she was able to protect little Daniela. Still, it's awful that they had to experience such a horrific ordeal and my heart goes out all of the victims' families.
Image via NBC
