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Quick thinking Zac got behind and grabbed the wheel, steering the car into the central reservation to stop it before switching off the engine and calling 999
A heroic 12-year-old schoolboy has won a Pride of Britain award after he averted a crash tragedy when his mother collapsed at the wheel of her car.
Nicola Crump was driving son Zac Howells to a Christmas market in Warwickshire when she started to feel unwell at 60mph on the A40 in Herefordshire.
She managed to slow the car down and steer halfway down the road onto a narrow curb before passing out last December. But with the automatic gearbox still in drive, her foot pressed down on the gas pedal and the car backed out onto the dual carriageway.
Quick-thinking Zac, from Ebbw Vale, Wales, got behind and grabbed the wheel, steering the car into the central reservation to stop it before switching off the engine and calling 999.
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He avoided a potentially devastating high-speed crash involving other road users
Remaining calm, he used the car’s sat-nav to identify their location to the emergency operator, allowing the police and paramedics to arrive quickly.
Zac Howells from Ebbw Vale(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
He is among a number of winners at The Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards with P&O Cruises with the awards on ITV1 and ITVX at 8pm. on Thursday, October 22.
The winners were chosen by the Pride of Britain judging panel from a shortlist drawn up after tens of thousands of public nominations. The winners will be honored at a star-studded awards dinner at Grosvenor House in London, hosted by Carol Vorderman MBE and Ashley Banjo MBE.
999 call
In the recording of Zac’s 999 call, the youngster can be heard saying: “I’m basically driving on a motorway and my mum just passed out so I had to brake the car to stop.
“His foot went down on the pedal and it started to accelerate, so I had to crash into the barrier. I was really scared.”
Nicola, who was unconscious for around seven minutes, was found to be suffering from extremely low blood pressure and is awaiting further cardiology tests before she can get back behind the wheel.
Nicola said: “It must have been really terrifying for him.
“He said he screamed my name as the car sped up. When he realized I wasn’t going to wake up, he reached for the wheel and grabbed the steering wheel.
“He started bumping the car off the barrier to slow it down and then locked the wheel just to crash and stop. He just knew he had to do something.
“When I woke up I could see the blue lights coming at us and I was really confused. Zac was physically shaking but he kept saying, ‘I’m fine’. He was just worried about me.
“He literally saved our lives and who knows who else’s life. I just felt so guilty, I looked at him and he told me not to worry. It blows my mind how scared he must have felt, but he’s so humble. He thinks it’s a normal thing to do.
The judges said: “Zac was amazingly brave in an absolutely terrible situation. His courage and quick thinking prevented what would have been a devastating accident.”
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