Anaiah Rucker, Age 9 (Continued)

Anaiah Rucker and her 5-year-old sister, Camry, left their house and walked across the street to the school bus stop. Both girls were wearing their hoodies, which is likely the reason they didn’t see the oncoming truck. When Anaiah saw it, she pulled her little sister out of the way, but Anaiah ended up being hit. She fell to the ground and stopped breathing. The schoolbus driver, Loretta Berriman, witnessed the accident and performed CPR, until she felt Anaiah’s heart beat.

The two sisters were rushed to the hospital. Camry had no major injuries. Anaiah suffered two broken legs, a fractured neck, damaged spleen, and a destroyed kidney. Anaiah’s left leg was too shattered and had to be amputated the day after her accident.

After a month of rehabilitation, Anaiah was released from the hospital. She was brought home to a hero’s welcome.

Anaiah doesn’t view her actions as heroic, because had she not acted, her little sister would have likely not survived, which would have been much worse.
(Madison, Georgia: 2011)
View Anaiah’s story on YouTube.