For Angela Shymanski, there’s only one thought whenever she looks at her child Lexi – she and Lexi’s brother wouldn’t be here if not for her.

The then five-year-old from Canada was hailed as a hero when she saved her family after a terrifying accident.

Even at a young age, she knew the gravity of the situation and rose to meet the moment.

Angela and her children Lexi and Peter were on their way home from a family vacation in the Calgary area. It must’ve been a long drive because Angela felt her eyes getting heavy. She reminded herself to take some shut-eye at the next rest stop.

They never made it to that rest stop though.

Angela fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of the car. They veered off the road and plunged into a steep 40-foot embankment in the Canadian Rockies.

After their violent dive, five-year-old Lexi found herself leaning forward, only to be held by her five-point harness. Her mother was close to death, still conscious with a broken back. Her brother, meanwhile, was bleeding from his head.

If they waited any longer, the situation could be fatal.

Lexi knew she had to do something.

Lexi unfastened her five-point harness, which was a feat in itself.

“It’s crazy,” Shymanski told Metro. “I only can remember one or two times where she got out of her five-point harness previously.

“She somehow got out, adrenaline or whatever, and barefoot hiked up the embankment.”

However, wrestling with the harness is the easiest part for Lexi. Because after that, she climbed the 40-foot ravine barefoot, not minding the sharp twigs and stones under her feet.

At that moment, Loni and Jeremiah Jirik, who had been taking the same road, saw an alarming sight.

Young Lexi was waving down cars and asking for help.

Soon enough, Lexi was getting all the help she needed as helpful strangers responded to the scene.

“When the grown men, medics, and firemen say that they did it with ropes, I know that it’s unreal that she did it barefoot.” Angela Shymanski told Inside Edition.

Little hero Lexi Shymanski saved her mom and brother after a terrible car accident #cityofpg http://t.co/8KFIjCILsc pic.twitter.com/DlgpJHmJxx

— PrinceGeorgeCitizen (@PGCitizen) July 29, 2015

The responders reached the family just in time. Angela’s heart had stopped and she had to be resuscitated.

Fortunately, everyone made it to the hospital.

Her younger brother had to undergo head surgery for bleeding, and her mom had to be confined in a wheelchair because of her broken back. Lexi suffered only minor wounds – injuries she would push aside just so she could help her family.

The Royal Canadian Human Association awarded Lexi with a medal.

This recognition is reserved for Canadians who display exemplary acts of bravery especially in times of adversity.

Lexi received her medal in her princess dress and was surrounded by thunderous applause from a supportive crowd. She might be young back then, but it didn’t stop her from rising to the moment when her family needed her the most.

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Source: YouTube – Inside Edition, YouTube – CBC News, Inside Edition, Time, Edmonton Journal, Twitter – @PGCitizen