*A 3-year-old Arkansas boy and his 1-year-old brother survived on their own — for as many as four days — after a single-vehicle crash killed their mother.
The children’s mother, Lisa Holliman, died after she lost control of her car and it crashed into a ravine. According to CNN, the older of the two boys, identified by his grandfather as Kylen, was found Monday morning by a passing motorist.
“You could tell he was extremely traumatized,” Ouachita County Detective Nathan Greeley told the outlet.
Deputies located a vehicle overturned deep in a ravine in the area where the 3-year-old was found. His 1-year-old brother was found inside the car still fastened into his car seat.
Greeley told CNN the boy was found alert, responsive and had been transported to a local hospital.
The body of Holliman, 25, was found nearby. She was ejected from the car when it rolled.
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“I don’t understand how a little bitty boy came out of that seatbelt, climbed out (of) that car, got out of that ditch, and walked up there and looked for help, knowing that his mother wasn’t responding to whatever he was doing at that time,” Holliman’s father, James Holliman, told local NBC affiliate KARK.
“And I know his brother was crying at that time. He’s a hero. He got up, and if it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have known where none of them was at.”
According to the report, officials gave the boy a bath, food and a change of clothes and distributed his description. A family member contacted the sheriff’s office and told authorities that the boy’s 1-year-old brother was likely nearby, Greeley said.
James learned at the hospital that his daughter had been about four weeks pregnant with her third child.
“My family is taking it real hard right now,” he said. “But we’re happy that the grandkids are OK. We’re happy that he was wise enough to know that something was wrong, to get up and go somewhere where somebody could see him to get help for his family.”
Both boys suffered dehydration and have since been released to family members,
James said he hoped to gain custody of his grandkids.
