HIGHLAND, Mich. (WXYZ) — A grandmother died last month after being hit by a car while protecting her granddaughter. Now the woman's daughter is sharing with Action News what happened that terrible day.
The accident happened along North Milford Road between Livingston and M-59.
Jen Losey James says her mother pushed her niece Sarah out the way of an oncoming vehicle, saving Sarah’s life while sacrificing her own.
"She said millions of times she would sacrifice her life for none of us to be in pain and she held up to her promise," James said.
She added that she can remember that day like it was yesterday.
"I get a call at 2:54 p.m. and it’s Sarah on the phone saying grandma is on the ground unconscious," James recalled.
Tonight a woman shares an emotional story about how her mother saved her niece from being hit by a car while sacrificing her own life. The two were on their way to a Dr’s appt when the accident happened. See you Tonight at 10 on @tv20detroit then turn to @wxyzdetroit at 11. pic.twitter.com/rDJ9tiBlYx
— ALAN CAMPBELL (@AlanCampbellTV) August 15, 2019
James' mother Karlon was walking across North Milford Road with her granddaughter Sarah, taking her to a doctors appointment. Cameras at nearby businesses captured what happened next.
"The black Equinox on the right hand side hit them and in the video what it showed was Sarah being almost pushed out of the way," James said.
The girl suffered minor bumps and bruises, but Karlon wasn’t so lucky.
"(She was) bleeding on both sides of the brain," James said. "She also had a laceration on the skull, and three broken ribs plus a punctured lung, a broken sternum and her pelvis was shattered."
Doctors told James her mother's condition was getting worse and the outcome didn’t look promising.
"They removed the tube and we sat with her and she lasted five hours and then I actually heard her last heart beat," James said.
She says she wants her mother to be remembered as a kindhearted person who loved her family and friends and would do just about anything for anyone.
"Going through life like I said if I can just be 1% of what my mom was and the human that she was and the heart she had, I think I would live a pretty fabulous life," James said.
The investigation into why this happened is still ongoing.
