Little girl saves grandma and father during blizzard
- EFN Staff | March 15, 2017
It’s a heroic story that will linger for generations. Seven-year-old Hazel Whitehawk will be known as the little girl and a hero who saved her grandma, known as koko, and her father during last week’s blizzard-like freezing weather that hit most of Saskatchewan.
Hazel’s koko, Madeleine Whitehawk, had two appointments in Yorkton but decided to miss one appointment due to the weather that was stirring. With hopes of avoiding the storm, Madeleine began her trek along with her son, Richard, and his daughter, Hazel, back to Angusville, Manitoba – their home during the week. When they approached Russell, MB the roads were closed so they had no choice to try make it home.
“The road was terrible…we had no choice but to try make it to Angusville, we were just maybe a mile from (there) when we hit the ditch,” she says.
Madeleine called 911 but no emergency vehicles came to their rescue due to closed highways but they were advised to stay in the car – she knew it was not a good idea to stay inside their vehicle.
“There was a lot of snow blowing. We could’ve been covered and maybe gotten carbon monoxide poisoning,” says the 72-year-old grandmother. “We had no choice so we got out of the car and we started walking. It was awful.”
Little Hazel led the way as she guided her koko by walking in front of her to make a trail. They were walking against a strong wind with snow blowing sideways and clouding their vision.
“It got to the point where I felt so warm that I wanted to lay down,” she says. “But Hazel kept encouraging me to keep going. (She) was pulling me and sometimes we’d be crawling.”
Finally, Hazel spotted lights belonging to a farmhouse which ended the longest hour walk that they will never forget. The owners of the home helped them inside their place and replaced their wet clothing with warmer apparel and they were offered hot beverages to warm up.
The man tried driving them home with his truck but the snow was too deep. They were taken as far as main street which was a block away from their house. Again, Hazel led her koko and her father by making a path for them to follow.
“She was just so brave. Hazel pulled us through,” she says. “Not once did she try to cry and say she was scared.”
A year ago, Richard lost his wife which is Hazel’s mother and due to spinal injuries, he is unable to care for his daughter. Madeleine looks after them both. Despite losing her mother and having her father physically unable to care for her, Hazel looks on the positive side of life and she never ceases to amaze her family.
“She is a very amazing person. Very intelligent, articulate and a loving little girl who is very caring about other people,” she says.
Even faced with almost every driver’s nightmare, Madeleine will still need to commute on a weekend basis back to Kamsack in Saskatchewan where they have a permanent residence. She says she will be taking extra precaution the next time she travels by dressing warm and staying off the highways during winter storms.