A New Mexico State Police officer is being credited with saving the life of a young girl who was trapped following a rollover last week.
Officer Steven Nunez responded to the crash on Interstate 40 east of Grants on May 8 to find the 8-year-old girl pinned under the overturned vehicle, according to KRQE-TV.
Luckily, four Good Samaritans stopped to help Nunez.
"We could kneel down and see her and actually touch her," he told the news station. "We had no tools, and a male subject came and brought a floor jack. He tried jacking up the vehicle, but it wasn't working." Suddenly, the girl stopped breathing momentarily, and then started breathing again.
Nunez knew there was little time to spare.
The officer and the civilians decided to try to lift the car off of her and were able to roll it on its side and pull the girl out.
She was then airlifted to the hospital where she was listed in serious but stable condition.
Nunez said that he's glad the girl is alive and is grateful for the actions of the people who stopped to help.
"I do like to thank the bystanders," Nuñez said. "Without them I could not have completed this alone."
Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the crash.
