LAKELAND, Fla. (WTSP) -- The thought of a six-year-old and a then eight-year-old in the driver and passenger seats of a car might make you panic. But Ahnlyse and Darrell Kennedy were calm as they drove their grandma to safety.
“We saved our grandma,” Darrell said.
Their grandmother didn't realize it, but she'd just had a stroke, and then got behind the wheel of her car. She was taking her grandkids to get something to eat.
She had no control, as she swerved down North Florida Ave. in Lakeland. That's when the kids took over. Darrell was already in the passenger seat, and he told his sister to get in the driver seat
“Ahnlyse got right here on her lap, and I just grab the wheel and just try to turn with her,” Darrell said.
They were only going about 20 miles per hour and they were running stop signs. Other drivers were honking at them.
“Then I was turning with her, trying to turn into the hotel parking,” Darrell explained.
Amazingly, they didn't hit any other cars. They came to a stop when they hit a curb in this hotel parking lot, then got someone to call 911.
Darrell even Googled “how to drive a stick shift” while all this was going on. He found out later his grandma's car is automatic.
This happened in June, but Lakeland Police honored them this week, blown away by their quick thinking.
“I would definitely remember their names, get their autographs now,” School Resource Officer Preston Chatman said. “They're going to be something in society and the world.”
If you ask them what they think of themselves, they'll tell you, in unison.
“A hero,” they said.
Next time they're behind the wheel, they hope they'll have a license.
Their grandmother is doing well as she recovers from her stroke.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the 10 News app now.
Have a news tip? Email tips@wtsp.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
