10-Year-Old Hero Dies Saving Toddler From Runaway Car

A 10-year-old girl is being remembered as a hero after she died saving a 2-year-old from a runaway car on Monday in Lakeside, California, Fox 5 San Diego reports. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Kiera Larsen and at least one other child were playing in and around a parked Mercedes while Kiera's stepmom was inside their house getting a car charger. Somehow the Mercedes got shifted in neutral and started rolling down the sloping driveway toward a group of Kiera's siblings and friends, NBC San Diego reports. Kiera sprung into action, pushing a 2-year-old girl out of the way before being hit by Mercedes herself.

Kiera was transported to an area hospital, where she died from her injuries. "A child died heroically," a California Highway Patrol officer tells Fox. "She sacrificed herself for another small child." Those were sentiments echoed by the mother of the 2-year-old Kiera saved. “She is truly a hero. She will forever be my kids’ guardian angel,” says Alissa Jenkins, whose 1-year-old was also at the scene. “She saved both my daughters' lives." A GoFundMe page has already raised more than $45,000 for Kiera's funeral expenses. Authorities are investigating to determine how the car, which was off at the time, got shifted into neutral. (More hero stories.)