Fast-acting witness saves woman pinned by car

One minute Dana Jones was working on her stalled Cadillac, the next she was under the car and being dragged down a Clayton County highway.

The 20-year-old mother from Riverdale is in stable condition at Grady Memorial hospital. She became trapped when the car fell on her and dragged her about 300 feet.

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Courtesy of Letty Hernandez

Clayton County police, paramedics and witnesses were able to lift the car with 2-by-4s.

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There are conflicting reports as to how she got trapped under her car. Initial police reports stated that she stopped to change her tire at the intersection of Ga. 138 and Jonesboro Road. However, Clayton County Police spokeswoman Lt. Rebecca Brown said the woman stated she got under her car to knock on the starter.

She did not have the car in park completely, causing it to slowly roll down the road and her foot got caught in the undercarriage.

Raquel Hernandez, 27, of Ellenwood said she noticed the woman outside her open office window at the corner of Jonesboro Road. All of a sudden she heard yelling and screaming for help.

“I couldn’t see anything,” Hernandez said. “All I could hear was her yelling and her car rolling in my direction.”

Hernandez ran out of her office toward the car. Her first thought was to put it in park.

“The scary part was that there is a traffic light at the intersection,” said Hernandez. “At the time of the incident the light was red. If it had not been, the car could have been hit as it was rolling.”

As Hernandez ran to assist Jones, her sister, Letty Hernandez, called 911. Another witness flagged down an ambulance that was down the road, Brown said.

Before the paramedics and police arrived, Hernandez said she and a few others began trying to find a way to free Jones.

She took Jones’ keys out of the ignition, opened the trunk and pulled out the car jack. She then grabbed Jones’ 8-month-old baby out of the car, along with Jones’ cellphone, and made a phone call for her.

“She kept asking how her baby was doing,” said Hernandez, who called Jones’ sister to pick up the child.

As they used the jack, Jones’ leg became more entangled. Paramedics and witnesses were able to lift the car with 2x4s, Brown said. They freed the woman after untangling her leg.

Police blocked the intersection while an emergency helicopter landed. Jones was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital.