Most teenagers would freeze. Elianna Reinke, 14, didn’t. When she and her father Casey spotted a violent, fiery crash on Carefree Highway in Cave Creek, Arizona, she didn’t hesitate — she took charge.
“She grabbed my phone. She’s like, ‘I’m going to stop traffic, call 911. You go get them,'” Casey recalled. The Marine veteran did exactly what his daughter commanded.
It was around 10:30 p.m. on May 16 when the father-daughter duo saw a speeding car flash past them. Seconds later, two vehicles had collided and erupted into flames near 12th Street, trapping six people inside burning cars.
Casey pulled one person from a sedan. But the bigger challenge was a truck with five people inside, flames creeping fast. Two other drivers — Mark and Tim — stopped to help. Together, the strangers flipped the truck and pulled everyone out before the fire swallowed it whole.
All six survivors were rushed to a nearby hospital. A responding firefighter later told Elianna something that said it all: “The group of people here are the reason those six people are still alive.”
When asked about their bravery, both Casey and Elianna stayed humble. “I just played my role, and he played his role,” she said. Casey added simply, “Nobody I’d trust more.”
A GoFundMe has been launched for the burn victims. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the cause of the crash.
