A 9-year-old girl survives car crash, walks two miles to get Dad help

Celia Renteria, a 9-year-old, crawled out of a crashed SUV, climbed out of a California canyon, and walked nearly two miles in the dark to get help for her father, who was in the car. But he died.

Law enforcement officials praised the bravery and tenacity of a 9-year-old girl who crawled out of a mangled SUV at the bottom of a remote Southern California canyon and hiked nearly two miles (over three kilometers) to find help for her father, who was pinned in the driver's seat following a rollover crash.

Celia Renteria was sure her father was still alive when she climbed up the rocky embankment early Sunday, said California Highway Patrol Officer Gil Hernandez. When officers responded more than an hour and a half later, they found Alejandro Renteria, 35, was dead.

"She was very courageous, being able to walk through the dark, through bushes and very rough terrain to get help for her dad," Hernandez said. "Had she just waited there, we probably would not have found her until the next day."

The 2010 Ford Escape was launched about 200 feet (60 meters) down into the canyon along an isolated stretch of the Sierra Highway in the high desert of northern Los Angeles County at about 1 a.m. Sunday, the CHP said. The vehicle overturned several times.

Celia managed to extricate herself and walk through rugged terrain to a nearby home, but nobody answered the door, the CHP said. Then she hiked up the embankment and along the road to a commuter rail station in nearby Acton where she flagged down a passing motorist at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday.

"She walked quite a distance in a very, very threatening environment," CHP Sgt. Tom Lackey told KABC-TV. "It's very steep and it's brushy and there's also coyotes in the background."

A helicopter transported the girl to Children's Hospital Los Angeles. She was treated for minor injuries including bumps and bruises and a cut on her face.

"She's in good condition," Lyndsay Hutchison, a hospital spokeswoman, said Monday.

On video shot by the family in the hospital, the girl said she was cold and hurt, according to KCBS-TV. She told her family she was saddened to learn her father did not survive the crash.

The highway patrol was investigating whether alcohol played a role in the crash.

Acton is a small town tucked in the mountains between Los Angeles and the Mojave Desert.

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Associated Press writer Robert Jablon contributed to this report.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.