8-Year-Old Swims to Shore & Walks a Mile Barefoot to Save Dad's Life After Car Crash (VIDEO)

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car accident

An 8-year-old boy deserves some sort of medal this morning for saving his father's life after a horrific car accident in the middle of the night.

When their vehicle hit a guardrail and wound up in the middle of the Nashua River, Joshua Garcia waded to shore and ran home almost a mile barefoot -- then woke up his mother so she could call 911. Due to his quick action, rescuers were able to go back to the scene of the accident and free Joshua's father from the car.

Both Joshua and his father, Eugene Garcia, were treated at the hospital and have since been released.

And while both of them are lucky to be alive and to have escaped serious injuries, police may press charges against Eugene because they believe excessive speeding may have caused the accident. Joshua has also reportedly been removed from his parents' custody by the Department of Child and Family Services while the accident is being investigated.

You can hear more about what happened in this video clip.

But regardless of what went down on that stretch of road at 3 o'clock in the morning -- Joshua's mother must be overflowing with a wild range of emotions right about now. Holy Toledo. Can you imagine being woken up in the wee hours of the morning by your child, who tells you to dial 911 because he and his father have been in a horrific accident?

I'm sure at first she was so relieved that her son was ok, but then after hearing that he not only freed himself from the car, but also swam through the river and ran home barefoot? Yeah, proud doesn't even begin to describe how I'd feel if Joshua were my kid. He's only 8, and as the mom of a son around the same age, it's tough to imagine him being able to react with such strength and bravery in a situation like that.

But then once this mother realized just how bad the accident was, I'm sure anger started to take over. Why the heck was this dad driving with his kid at 3 a.m., and if it turns out that he was speeding, why wasn't he being more careful considering the precious cargo he had in tow? If that were my husband (or ex-husband or baby daddy or whoever) and I believed he'd been careless and put our son in danger, I'd probably never speak to him again. (And it would be a miracle if I didn't strangle him.)

Thankfully Joshua is going to be ok -- but given the severity of the accident, it's amazing that he survived, let alone escaped without being seriously hurt. And if I were his mother, I'd thank my lucky stars, count my blessings, and think twice about who he gets into the car with and at what time of night.

If you were Joshua's mother, how would you react to what happened? Do you think his father is to blame?


Image via SanVicentMedia/YouTube

boys, safety, accidents