9-Year-Old Drives Stepdad To Safety After Heart Attack

By Jennifer Von Reuter WHAG/NBC News Channel

BRUNSWICK, MD -- A Brunswick, Maryland man is lucky to be alive after suffering a heart attack while driving. It's all thanks to his quick-thinking nine year-old daughter who drove her dad to safety.

Timothy Webber and his daughter Cheyanne were spending an evening at a hunt club in a remote part of town, far from the sound of passing cars or even cell phone service. Shortly after leaving for home, things went wrong.

"When we got ready to leave I started having chest pains," said Webber.

He was having a heart attack. That's when Cheyanne took control of the car and drove nearly 10 miles to cell phone range.

"I steered and I mostly pushed the gas and the brake," recalls the young girl.

On her dad's lap, Cheyanne drove their Ford pickup truck down some windy, narrow roads at looking for a place to pull over and call for help.

"And then I called Mom 'cause I found that I had service on the phone and then she said she was on her way to come pick us up," Cheyanne added.

Her mother, Jessie Webber, said "I knew something was wrong. I didn't know what exactly was wrong until I got up there and he wasn't responding."

Jessie drove Timothy to the hospital where doctors found his major artery to be 90 percent blocked.

"I probably would have hurt myself if Cheyanne wouldn't have been with me and if she wouldn't have known how to drive the truck, both of us probably would have been hurt," Timothy said.

Cheyanne said her dad taught her how to drive a tractor and once drove a car on private property, something she enjoys doing, but as for driving on main roads again, she plans to wait until she's 16.

Timothy is not Cheyanne's biological father, but in a few weeks, he will be adopting her. It's something the family has been working toward for some time.

©2010 NBC News Channel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed.