Twin girls, 4, free themselves from car crash that killed their father in 'heroic' act

Twin 4-year-old girls escaped a fatal car crash by unbuckling their car seats and hiking for help, Washington state officials confirmed.

The crash killed their father, Corey Simmons, 47, at the scene after the car careened off a winding road Friday evening and down into a wooden area 200 feet away, KING-TV and CNN reported. Simmons sustained traumatic head injuries.

He was not wearing a seatbelt, officials confirmed to USA TODAY. 

The twins unbuckled their booster seats, extricated themselves from the wreckage by climbing out of the broken back window of the vehicle – a 2017 Nissan Sentra –and climbed 200 feet up an embankment back to the road on Whidbey Island about  34 miles north of Seattle, Trooper Heather Axtman told USA TODAY.

As soon as they approached the side of a highway, an unidentified good Samaritan spotted them. She sheltered them in her car while they waited to be taken to the hospital, Axtman said. 

The girls were treated for minor injuries and were reunited with family members.

“I have kids of my own and typically, kids are scared of the dark and the woods," Axtman told USA TODAY. "They overcame these fears because they knew their dad needed help, and that is so heroic,”  Axtman told USA TODAY. 

Axtman told KING-TV that authorities made contact with the good Samaritan who helped the children, but she didn't want her identity to be made public.

The cause of the crash remains unclear pending investigation, though Axtman confirmed to USA TODAY that the crash took place on a rural stretch of highway that did not have lighting.

"This story will stick with me because of the bravery and heroic actions of these little girls," she said.

Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Joshua Bote on Twitter: @joshua_bote.