Young Men Rescue Mankato Family From Rollover Crash

By Amelia Santaniello, WCCO-TV

NORTH MANKATO (WCCO) -- It was a close call for a North Mankato family when their car collided with another car, which tossed them down a ravine. But, they were lucky to have two college students to come to the rescue.

The family was riding down Lee Boulevard hill in Mankato on Saturday afternoon before the crash.

"I seen that the car was flipped upside down, so we, I, tried to figure out the best way of getting down there," said Lucas Johnson.

He and his roommate, Giovanni Quiroz, said they didn't think twice about helping the family of five who was trapped in the car.

"I knew there was at least one person down there that was at least OK down there and I wanted to make sure we got everyone out of there," said Johnson.

You can still see tire tracks in the snow where the car dropped some 20 feet.

"There's glass and shards of mirror are all over the place," said Johnson.

Getting to the family was very dangerous and tricky.

"It was a little steep going down so I started cutting across beneath a tree and I just kept cutting, cutting, cutting. Once I got further enough down, I was able to run down the hill," said Johnson. "The one girl was kind of walking around, I was able to do down and I was talking to the mother who was lying on the hood, I said, 'are you guys OK?' She said, 'yes help me get my kids out.'"

"There was one baby that was still in the car seat that was kind of like hanging down from the car seat, and the one girl that was still in her seat belt. The car was locked, so I had to go back from the front door and reach in the door that was opened on the passenger's side and reach the handle to unlock the front door" said Johnson.

Lucas and Giovanni say they wouldn't hesitate to help out again.

"I really don't feel like a hero, it was just like something nice you can do for someone," said Quiroz.

The dad and infant son were taken to a nearby hospital, but were treated and released. Everyone else is doing OK.