Anyone who’s ever had a child knows that accidents can – and will – happen. Raising children is one long course of learning curves and it’s virtually impossible to be a perfect mom or a perfect dad.
Though, while it’s true that accidents and mistakes will occur from time to time, some are more difficult to forget than others.
Just ask grandmother Teresa Gall. She accidentally locked her 17-month-old grandson Liam in a car … during the height of summer.
Around about the same time, two teenagers, Jack Long and Shane Simpson, were setting off to make their way home from football training.
They didn’t get far though. No sooner had they looked at the parking lot, right beside the school’s football field, did they see an older woman beating her car with a hammer.
Approached the woman
At first, it seemed a peculiar sight. The two boys assumed the woman had locked herself out of the car. And yet they had the sense to question why she’d be using a hammer if that were the case? Why not simply call a locksmith?
Jack and Shane quickly realised something wasn’t right. They decided to go over and see if they could be of assistance. When they arrived, they realised the situation was serious.
The woman, Teresa Gall, continued to beat her car with the hammer. When Jack and Shane saw tears running down her cheeks, they knew things had to be more grave than they’d previously considered. That’s when Teresa shouted seven words that forced them to act.
“There’s a baby locked in the car!” she screamed.
Leapt into action
Shane and Jack peered into the car and saw 17-month-year-old Liam. As it was summer, the temperature outside was above 35 degrees celcius – enough to make it dangerous to be stuck inside a stationery car if there aren’t any windows open.
Liam looked to be struggling. According to Teresa, he’d already thrown up and was beginning to lose consciousness. Shane and Jack acted without hesitation.
6ft Shane took the hammer from Teresa and broke the window in one blow.
Teresa quickly attended to Liam and took him to her sister’s house. Half an hour later, Shane and Jack stopped by to make sure that they were both OK.
“I can’t imagine life without my grandson and what could have happened,” Gall said. “I am eternally grateful to them.”
“Any decent human being out there probably would have done the same thing,” Shane explained.
Cash reward
Teresa actually offered a cash reward to Shane and Jack, though they declined. Instead, they asked her to attend the opening game of their football season.
Always remember that it’s extremely dangerous to leave children or animals in cars during summer.
Please share this article so we can spread new awareness of an issue that seems to be a recurring problem. Thankfully, Jack and Shane were around to help this time, but benefitting from the aid of good samaritans isn’t always an option!
