After crash kills dad, 4-year-old girls escape wreck to find help, Washington cops say

After a solo crash killed their 47-year-old father Friday in Washington, twin 4-year-old girls freed themselves from their car seats to seek help, KING reported.

The girls climbed a 200-foot embankment to the road, where someone in a passing vehicle stopped and called 911, KOMO reported.

“The girls were extremely heroic and extremely brave,” said Trooper Heather Axtman of the Washington State Police, NBC News reported. They suffered minor injuries in the wreck.

Corey Simmons of Langley, Washington, died in the 6 p.m. crash on Whidbey Island when his vehicle careened down the embankment and crashed into several trees, KIRO reported.

Simmons was not wearing a seatbelt, but his daughters were strapped into their car seats in the back seat, NBC News reported.

The cause of the crash, which took place on a winding road with no street lights, remains under investigation, according to the network.

Axtman said the remote, dark location made it unlikely that anyone driving past might see the girls by the road, saying it “was truly the right time at the right place,” CNN reported.

The family says the girls are traumatized by the accident, but wants to thank the woman who found them after the crash, KING reported.

“We are so incredibly thankful, and we are desperately looking for who she is,” said Rebecah Crider, Simmons’ stepdaughter, according to the station.

A GoFundMe account has been established to help with the family’s expenses. The account had raised $6,730 toward its $18,000 goal as of Monday morning.

This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 12:24 PM with the headline "After crash kills dad, 4-year-old girls escape wreck to find help, Washington cops say."