• Video
  • Shop
  • Culture
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Food
  • Living
  • Style
  • Travel
  • News
  • Book Club
  • GMA3: WYNTK
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Contact Us
  • © 2025 ABC News
  • Family

8-year-old helps save great-grandmother who got trapped under car

2:06
8-year-old helps save great-grandmother who got stuck under car
Courtesy Porchia Lane
ByYi-Jin Yu
January 23, 2023, 10:08 PM

An 8-year-old Michigan girl is being commended for her quick thinking that led to her helping save her 79-year-old great-grandmother nearly two weeks ago.

Mariah said her great-grandmother Patricia Lynch had picked her up from school and headed to drop her off at her West Bloomfield home on Jan. 11, something she'd done before. After they pulled up to the driveway of Mariah's home, Lynch got out of the car, a blue Chevy Equinox, while Mariah was still inside. Suddenly, things took a turn.

"She thought her car was in park but it was in reverse," Mariah told "Good Morning America." "It started moving and she tried to stop it and she fell and the tire [went] over her foot."

Mariah didn't hesitate and jumped into action, doing something she said she had seen her mom and family members do often.

"I pulled the keys out [of the ignition]," the 8-year-old said.

Editor’s Picks

4th grader helps save choking student: 'We're just extremely proud'

  • Nov 14, 2022

10-year-old twins help rescue dad from drowning

  • Jul 06, 2022

5-year-old credited with saving mom's life when her blood sugar got too low

  • Nov 08, 2019

"I didn't know her foot was under there but I knew she could still get hurt because her body was under there," the second grader added.

Mariah then got out of the small SUV and ran to alert her mom, Porchia Lane, who was home at the time. Her call for help was caught on the family's Ring doorbell camera as she approached the front door.

Eight-year-old Mariah is captured in a doorbell video camera after running to get help for her great-grandmother Patricia after she got trapped under a tire in a recent incident.
Courtesy Porchia Lane

"I thought it was a normal drop off and when I opened the door, I still didn't hear her screaming initially," Lane recalled. "I thought, 'Well, maybe my grandmother was having a hard time pulling up the driveway' because it's a little hill. As I got closer to the car, that's when I began to hear Mariah scream and I saw my grandmother's shoes in the middle of the driveway. I couldn't even see her yet. So I was just in disbelief."

Lane said she found her grandmother parallel to the car and saw that her foot and leg had gotten stuck underneath but that somehow, Lynch had managed to pry herself out from under the car.

"Mariah was able to go grab a towel. We wrapped her leg up and caught the ambulance," Lane recounted.

"She really thought fast," she added.

Related Articles

MORE: 8-year-old honored after saving fellow classmate from choking

Mariah said she felt scared and nervous when the incident occurred, but said that afterward, she and her mom were able to visit her great-grandmother at Trinity Health Oakland Hospital.

Mariah and her mom, Porchia Lane, visited Lynch while she was at the hospital.
Courtesy Porchia Lane

Lane said "by the grace of God," her grandmother did not suffer any broken bones but did have to get stitches and blood infusions for brusies, blisters and blood loss. Last week, the 79-year-old was able to be discharged and Lane said they plan on helping her through the next transition to physical therapy and recovery.

According to Mariah, she and her great-grandmother Patricia Lynch see each other often and spend time together.
Courtesy Porchia Lane

Related Articles

MORE: 7-year-old credited with saving toddler from bottom of swimming pool

Lane said she feels "proud" of her daughter's quick thinking and has a message for other parents.

"Know that your kids are always paying attention. I really talked to Mariah and instilled in her to just follow her heart and make right decisions," Lane said. "It just makes me proud that she just was able to think fast and she probably was more calm than me in this situation because I would have been frantic."

Editor’s Picks

4th grader helps save choking student: 'We're just extremely proud'

  • Nov 14, 2022

10-year-old twins help rescue dad from drowning

  • Jul 06, 2022

5-year-old credited with saving mom's life when her blood sugar got too low

  • Nov 08, 2019

Up Next in Family—

Dad invites daughter's stepdad to walk her down the aisle

July 3, 2025

Traveling with kids this summer? Parenting influencers weigh in on how to be prepared

July 3, 2025

LGBTQ book opt-out ruling triggers national response from parents, educators, advocates

July 2, 2025

George Stephanopoulos, Ali Wentworth welcome new furry family member

July 2, 2025

Shop GMA Favorites

ABC will receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Sponsored Content by Taboola

The latest lifestyle and entertainment news and inspiration for how to live your best life - all from Good Morning America.
  • Contests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Children’s Online Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Shop FAQs
  • ABC News
  • ABC
  • All Videos
  • All Topics
  • Sitemap

© 2025 ABC News
  • Privacy Policy— 
  • Your US State Privacy Rights— 
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy— 
  • Interest-Based Ads— 
  • Terms of Use— 
  • Do Not Sell My Info— 
  • Contact Us— 

© 2025 ABC News