Girl, 9, Treks Miles for Help After Crash

A 9-year-old girl is being hailed as both astute and brave after trekking more than a mile for help after an early-morning car crash in California yesterday. Celia Renteria was riding with her father when their SUV crashed around 1am, landing in a ravine and leaving her father unconscious, reports CBS Los Angeles; police think alcohol may have been involved. Celia climbed out the window and, smelling gas, turned off the engine. She then journeyed through the dark, rural area across a difficult landscape to find help, CNN reports.

The girl saw a home some 1,000 feet away; when she arrived, no one answered the door. She returned to check on her dad before climbing up a 200-foot embankment. From there, she walked to a commuter rail station, where she hailed a passing car. "She walked quite a distance in a very, very threatening environment," a police officer said. "It's very black out here ... It's very steep and it's brushy and there's also coyotes in the background." CBS pegs the distance at nearly two miles. The driver who stopped called police, but when they arrived at the SUV, the girl's 35-year-old father had died. "They were really close. And that hurts me the most," says Celia's sister. (More children stories.)