Girl Says 'Superman' Neighbor Lifted Car To Free Her (VIDEO)

OTTAWA, Kan. -- A Kansas mother is praising a neighbor as a "Superman" after her 6-year-old daughter told her he somehow found the strength to lift a car off her.

Kristen Hough said Friday that her daughter Ashlyn was treated for minor injuries afterward.

Hough's 32-year-old neighbor Nick Harris says he saw a vehicle back out of a driveway and over Ashlyn. He says he doesn't know how he managed to lift the Mercury sedan off the child.

There were no witnesses to confirm the incident last week. But Ottawa police say Ashlyn told them it happened. Lt. Adam Weingartner says he didn't have anything to dispute the account.

Weingartner says it appeared Ashlyn wasn't pinned under the car long enough to be seriously hurt.

Ottawa is 50 miles southwest of Kansas City, Mo.

Watch:
 

Comments

[MaryfromIL]

01:34 AM on 12/20/2009

Is that you, Edward Cullen?

Signed, Team Jacob

[ladyearth]

01:18 AM on 12/20/2009

God bless all good neighbors everywhere.

[LadyDreamy]

11:54 PM on 12/19/2009

I live in OTTAWA!!!!!!!!! It's so small, that it's kind of a big deal to me that I see this article on here.

[guajiro]

11:11 PM on 12/19/2009

I love the total and complete affection the little girl shows for this man as does the mother. They're both very proud of him. I'm sure he thinks he lifted the car but probably what happened is she was rolled up under the back part of the car and if the car was put into "Park" then chances are it settled or rolled slightly when the brakes were released. When he pulled up on the rear quarter it would have lifted the body a few inches without necessarily lifting the wheels. When he pushed forward the car would have moved a few inches and would have been enough to free the girl, without the necessity to completely lift the car, though I'm sure in his mind he felt he lifted the entire car. Regardless, the deed was done and action is what saved the day. The parents ought to get that beautiful little kid some braces so she can show off her beautiful smile some more. Sometimes friends are closer to people than their own family and may be why the mother allowed this show of affection from the kid. At any rate the mom looks mature enough to protect her kid if she thought it any danger.

[screamadelica02]

08:36 PM on 12/19/2009

Before they met with the press, they should have called the Vatican and worked out a deal to add "Pope John Paul II helped me do it" to the story.

[ricmarc]

04:24 PM on 12/19/2009

the ap story hewadlines do not match the actual story. the ap said it was the father.

[El.Kabong]

02:49 PM on 12/19/2009

Great story and I agree with Mom that we should all be more careful driving but...

I think a more effective means of protection in cases like these is to teach children about how to recognise potential dangers. In this case, driveways should be considered similar to streets. Look at the cars, look for the back up lights; Look for exhaust fumes; Listen for engine noise but most importantly, alert the kids to the potential danger and drill it into them.

I won't always be here to protect my daughter, so I teach her how to protect herself...

-ek

[swingerofbirches]

02:06 PM on 12/19/2009

I have to say the video gave me a creepy vibe.......didn't feel right

At the least the girl has some boundary issues, I'm not suggesting what caused them, but I can't imagine most parents letting their children at that age "climb" on an adult

[jahsh]

03:02 PM on 12/19/2009

I hate to say it but I felt the same as you did about her "exuberance".

[swingerofbirches]

03:58 PM on 12/19/2009

like i said, i don't know, people have different cultural values, i know if i did that as a kid someone would have said what the he.ll are you doing to that man, leave him alone, and i'm not that old (27)

and if a kid did that to me i would be very uncomfortable, maybe that's just how i grew up, in a society where you want to keep appearances as safe looking as possible

it's just a vibe i got, and after i saw the video, i went through the comments and was honestly expecting most people to be commenting on that vibe, and saw none, so i posted my comment, i guess i'm just weird...i suppose i'm a bit like david sedaris in his story called "chicken in the henhouse" in case anyone knows that reference

[ydrittmann]

12:48 PM on 12/19/2009

The Balloon Boy did it and then floated off to do good deeds elsewhere. No need for thanks.

[roquelaure]

12:37 PM on 12/19/2009

Ah, adrenaline. It would be great if we had more conscious control over our glandular system.

Of course most of us would probably walk around in a Shiny Happy Endorphin high if we could. :P

[Design4you]

12:27 PM on 12/19/2009

Yea! A real super hero! This story gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.

[HBCA]

11:13 AM on 12/19/2009

I'm not a religious man but there are angels in us all. Nick Harris found his at just the right time.

[TCC]

11:42 AM on 12/19/2009

Actually, I think the right time would have been just before the car rolled onto her.

[JaMar]

01:34 PM on 12/19/2009

Good call. Heaven must be in a different time zone.

[RockiesRiter]

12:29 PM on 12/19/2009

Absolutely!

[lazercat2008]

11:01 AM on 12/19/2009

It's good to have Superman as a neighbor.

[SteveD987]

10:55 AM on 12/19/2009

Did Mr. Mcgee pen this story?

[rzzza]

10:25 AM on 12/19/2009

how much do cars weigh, like a ton?

jebus

[ydrittmann]

12:40 PM on 12/19/2009

You are not underneath the car, lifting the entire weight. You are at the outer edge using leverage to lift a portion of the weight. The wheels on the ground are the fulcrum. The higher you lift, the more weight is transferred to the ground by gravity. You can't keep this up for long, but the uninjured girl can roll out and then you can drop the car. On their cat, probably.

[poochytown]

01:34 PM on 12/19/2009

For what it's worth, that's not quite accurate. You are lifting about half the weight of the car. No leverage or fulcrum involved.

[dadw5boys]

10:30 AM on 12/20/2009

Lift most front wheel drive cars from the rear and it is only a few hundred lbs you are ligting. That is still a lot with little to grab on to and hold too.