Six-year-old's bravery catches eye of top Kamloops's cop
Jane Deelstra didn't panic when her grandmother's vehicle veered off the road in Kamloops and into a tree. Instead of waiting in the car with her grandmother unresponsive, Deelstra took action, and it caught the attention of Kamloops RCMP Supt. Sydney Lecky. Deelstra's grandmother...
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Jane Deelstra didn't panic when her grandmother's vehicle veered off the road in Kamloops and into a tree.
Instead of waiting in the car with her grandmother unresponsive, Deelstra took action, and it caught the attention of Kamloops RCMP Supt. Sydney Lecky.
Deelstra's grandmother was driving westbound on the East Trans-Canada Highway on Feb. 19 around 3:30 p.m., when she had a medical episode along the Kokanee Way exit, crashing into trees, according to a Kamloops RCMP news release.
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“Her windshield was smashed and her eyes were open,” Deelstra said. “I was yelling to her and she wasn’t answering. I was smacking her super hard and she wasn’t answering.”
Deelstra, bruised but able to move, opened left the door of the badly damaged and tilted car and crossed the street to the nearest business.
“I said my grandma crashed in her car and it dug into the dirt,” Deelstra said in the release.
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She stayed on the line with 911 dispatchers until police and ambulance showed up, then she accompanied her grandmother as she was taken to the hospital.
The story of Deelstra's actions after the crash stood out to Lecky, and he awarded her a Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of the Kamloops RCMP yesterday, Feb. 22.
“I heard the story and thought that was one of the most heroic things I have heard,” Lecky said to Deelstra. “The bravery that you showed for your grandma I thought needed a very special recognition… I hope that you’re able to tell your friends and be proud of it.”
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Deelstra's mother was shaken, but told police her daughter's bruised elbow is healing and she's gone back to being a kid. Deelstra's mother noted that while many might panic and stay in the vehicle, Deeltra knew what she had to do after the crash.
“I would like to be a cop and help save people,” Deelstra said.
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