3-year-old saves infant brother's life after Arkansas car crash leaves mother dead, police say

OUACHITA COUNTY, Ark. -- Police in Arkansas say a 3-year-old boy saved his infant brother's life after a car wreck killed their mother. The wreck was not visible from the highway, so help didn't arrive until the toddler crawled out of the vehicle. He was eventually found wandering on the roadway.

Along busy Highway 24 in Ouachita County, deputies say a wrecked car with a mother and her two small children inside went unnoticed for two days.

James Holliman is in disbelief his daughter Lisa Holliman, 25, is dead.

"I'll never get up and see her, I'll never get to talk to her, laugh with her. My baby's gone," Holliman said to KARK-TV.

What unfolded after the wreck, deputies say, is nothing short of a miracle.

"They went through a pure hell, no doubt," says Ouachita County Sheriff's Detective Lt. Nathan Greeley.

Holliman's 3-year-old grandson Kylen managed to get out of his car seat, through the sunroof then up a small hill filled with bushes.

"When he climbed out of that car, seeing his mother dead like that, like she was, he tried to wake his mom up," says Holliman. "He's a hero."

Greeley says when they found the car, they found the boys' mother nearby and Kylen's 1-year-old brother still fastened to his car seat.

"He was somewhat turned sideways, in a position upside down," Greeley explained.

Investigators say it's by the grace of God the children survived not only the wreck but made it two days without food or water.

"It was hard to see my grandson, you know, lying there like that... all cut up," Holliman said.

Holliman says losing his daughter may be the hardest thing he'll go through. He says it's even more difficult knowing his daughter was four weeks pregnant.

"We just found that out at the hospital that she was pregnant. We didn't know. We lost two," he said.

Both boys suffered dehydration.

The 1-year-old is hospitalized but expected to survive.

The cause of the wreck remains under investigation.