A Lawrence, Mass., woman used herself as a "speed bump" to stop her car from rolling into traffic in order to save the lives of her twin daughters, ABC News reported.
Mindy Tran, 22, said she had been living in a shelter with twin daughters Saleen and Sydney, and that they had recently moved into their new apartment just days before the incident.
"It felt like I was starting a new life," she told ABC News today from the hospital where she is recovering from a broken leg and dislocated shoulder and hip. "The girls M started at daycare and we just moved in. It seems like when things are going too well, something bad will happen."
After she lay on the ground behind her Honda Accord to stop it from rolling into the street with her kids still inside, Tran said she is lucky to be alive.
"I laid down horizontally, using my body as a speed bump to stop the car," she said.
When the car started rolling, her 2-yaer-old daughters were buckled in the back seat. A neighbor also came to help.
"My neighbor jumped in and he asked what I wanted them to do," she said. "I said make sure my daughter's got out of the car safely."
According to ABC News, her neighbor was able to get the girls out and they were uninjured, she added. "My daughters and I are all right and keeping our heads up," she said. "I'm lucky to be alive."
No damage was done to the car, Lawrence Fire Department Chief John Marsh said.
"Firefighters responded to the apartment and they stabilized the car with wooden blocks and then used an airbag to lift the car off Tran," he said, adding that she was eventually airlifted to a Boston-area hospital.
"We've seen something like this before," he said. "It is an unfortunate accident and somehow her car wasn't in gear."
Tran said she cannot walk and will have surgery in the coming days, along with physical therapy. "I crushed my knee, injured my hips and dislocated a shoulder," she said.
With the twin girl's birthday coming up on April 13, the medical facility has allowed them to have a party at the hospital with Tran.
"It's not going to be the same for them celebrating a birthday here at the hospital," she said, "but as a mother I want to see them."
Tran said she could be in the hospital for a few weeks, ABC News reported.
"I don't consider myself a hero," she said. "I am just a mother."
