Police commend 6-year-old for bravery after she sought help following car crash

A six-year-old girl from Kamloops, B.C., has been commended by RCMP for her quick thinking after she got help for her grandmother following a car crash.

Jane Deelstra was being driven by her gran Cathy Mabberley on Saturday afternoon when Mabberley, who has epilepsy, had a seizure. 

Mabberley, 46, managed to drive off the highway onto a side road in the Dallas neighbourhood of the city before the car crashed into a grove of trees.

Fortunately, Jane was able to keep a cool head.

Seeing the windshield was smashed, she tried unsuccessfully to rouse her grandmother by slapping her and calling her name. 

"I was super scared. I didn't know what to do. I just stood there and think and think and then took my seatbelt off," Jane told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops host Shelley Joyce. 

Looked both ways

She left the vehicle and headed out to get help.

"She looked both ways and she crossed two roadways to get to the nearest business. So, just really impressive for a six-year-old to be doing this," said RCMP spokesperson Const. Crystal Evelyn.

Neither Mabberley nor Jane were seriously hurt in the crash and Mabberley recovered from her seizure, but the incident has left Jane's mom, Macalan Jolicoeur, shaken.

"It's always like the worst fear when you have a family member with epilepsy that there's going to be a car crash, especially involving your child. It's terrifying, so, still a little shaken from it," Jolicoeur said.

People with epilepsy are allowed to drive in B.C. if they are taking medication to control the condition.

Jolicoeur said she has talked with Jane about what to do in cases of emergency because they were involved in a narrow escape a few years ago when a car crashed into a store they were in on the North Shore of Kamloops. 

"I was inches away from being smashed by that vehicle, and Jane was also involved with this vehicle going through the store, so we prepared ourselves," she said.

"... We're always extra safe around cars and on the street, and I always remind her, like, if anything happens to go get help and she always knows where to go."

Certificate of bravery

On Tuesday, Kamloops RCMP gave Jane a certificate of appreciation for her bravery.

Evelyn said it's reassuring to see that Jane was able to make the right decisions under pressure. 

"This little girl had the sense about her to take all those things her mom had been telling her about ... and put them into action and get the help that was needed," Evelyn said.

She says Jane's actions made a difference in getting emergency crews to the scene more quickly — something her mom is grateful for.

"Honestly, I'm so proud of her… this proved that like everything that I've taught her, she actually took in and absorbed and actually played out and when she needed to," said Jolicoeur.