Michigan Teen Lifts 2,000-Pound Vehicle Off Trapped Grandpa

The Huffington Post Laura Hibbard
First Posted: 02/22/2012 12:40 pm Updated: 02/23/2012 2:43 pm

Austin Smith, a 15-year-old from Ida Township, Mich., was spending a Saturday morning working on a car with his grandfather when tragedy struck, WDIV Detroit reports.

While Austin was inside the car, it shifted and collapsed, pinning his grandpa, Ernest “Papa Ernie” Monhollen, under 2,000 pounds of steel.

“I was just so scared,” Austin told WDIV. “I didn’t know what to do.”

In a burst of love, and most likely adrenaline, Austin was able to lift the front end of the car high enough so that his grandpa could crawl out, WFTS TV reports.

“Thank God he was here because if it was just me and his grandmother, it would have been over,” Monhollen said, according to the station.

Despite his miraculous escape, Monhollen suffered a serious cut to his face, fractured ribs, and injuries to his eye socket, a report by KABC states.

Nevertheless, “grandpa Ernie” is still incredibly grateful for his grandson.

“He’s a wonderful young man,” he told WDIV Detroit. “That’s all I can say,” Monhollen said.