Hero on the Highway
Several miles away in her Jersey City home, with her frantic daughter on one line and the 911 emergency operator on the other, Grace Sato felt utterly helpless.
Then, between sobs, Reiko was able to tell her mother about the Expedition in front of her father's car. The driver had let their car collide with his, then slowed it to a stop. Now the people in the big Ford were coming to help.
Grace heard someone talking to Reiko. The man from the SUV was trying to get Reiko to help open the door of the Mercedes, so he could pull her out to safety. Grace listened to the good Samaritan's voice in the background. She did not know if her ex-husband was alive or dead, but at least, it seemed, someone was trying to help Reiko.
And then Grace heard a woman scream. The words were loud and frightening enough to cut through her daughter's sobs： “A bus, a bus！ Run！”
“Jose, run！” cried Maria. “There's a bus coming, there's a bus coming.”
A huge tour company bus, like the ones that shuttle people back and forth to Atlantic City casinos, was coming around the bend in the road —— a blind spot on the Pulaski Skyway.
Just 100 yards behind them, it was traveling very fast in the left lane, the same lane where they were stopped. Would the driver see them in time？ If not, the massive motor coach probably had enough force behind it to crush both stopped vehicles.
Jose had planned to pull the little girl out, but traffic had prevented him from getting her door open in time. His own two children were now at immediate risk in the backseat of his SUV. Jose raced back to the Expedition, got in, and floored it.
The bus kept coming. It looked like it was going to crash into the Mercedes.
Just 15 or 20 feet behind the car with the little girl inside, the mammoth motor coach finally swerved into the right lane. It blasted past with such speed and force that it shook the Le Grands' SUV. Maria and Alexis screamed.
Jose, now another 50 or more feet down the skyway, put his Expedition back into park, ready to return to the Mercedes and to try to save the child inside.
As he jumped out of his car a second time, he saw that the Mercedes-Benz was on the move once again, coming back at them. In the rush and confusion, he hadn't turned the engine off.
He dashed back behind the wheel of the SUV, but before he could put it into gear, the Mercedes crashed into them again. Ignoring the jolt, Jose hit the brakes hard. The two cars slowed and, once again, came to a halt.
Wasting no time, Jose raced back to the Mercedes, slammed the car into park and then grabbed the little girl. She was crying hysterically, and he could not get her seat belt to unbuckle.
At last, he simply yanked the small child through the belt, then ran back to his SUV with her in his arms. He slid her into the backseat with Alexis and Blake. While Maria gave the 911 operators an update, little Alexis tried to comfort Reiko, who was still weeping. She took one of her stuffed bears and placed it in the child's arms, and her sobs diminished.
Police and EMS workers arrived in minutes. Jose Le Grand helped administer CPR to the unconscious driver, but he was past hope. Joseph Balagot was pronounced dead at 8：44 a.m.
Grace Sato got to the scene moments later. Frantic, but holding back tears, she jumped over the median into the confusion of whirling police lights and stopped cars. “Where's my daughter？” she cried. A man in a Yankees jersey pointed the way.
Reiko was crying and had a gash on her forehead, but otherwise the child seemed unhurt. She reached for her mother. Grace embraced her little girl and carried her to the car. Each of them was too overcome with emotion to speak.
At the hospital, Grace heard the sad news about her ex-husband. But her daughter was alive. It was a miracle, of the man-made kind. And, to Jose Le Grand, whose heart was as big as his mind was quick, Grace Sato will be forever grateful.
Several miles away in her Jersey City home, with her frantic daughter on one line and the 911 emergency operator on the other, Grace Sato felt utterly helpless.
Then, between sobs, Reiko was able to tell her mother about the Expedition in front of her father's car. The driver had let their car collide with his, then slowed it to a stop. Now the people in the big Ford were coming to help.
Grace heard someone talking to Reiko. The man from the SUV was trying to get Reiko to help open the door of the Mercedes, so he could pull her out to safety. Grace listened to the good Samaritan's voice in the background. She did not know if her ex-husband was alive or dead, but at least, it seemed, someone was trying to help Reiko.
And then Grace heard a woman scream. The words were loud and frightening enough to cut through her daughter's sobs： “A bus, a bus！ Run！”
“Jose, run！” cried Maria. “There's a bus coming, there's a bus coming.”
A huge tour company bus, like the ones that shuttle people back and forth to Atlantic City casinos, was coming around the bend in the road —— a blind spot on the Pulaski Skyway.
Just 100 yards behind them, it was traveling very fast in the left lane, the same lane where they were stopped. Would the driver see them in time？ If not, the massive motor coach probably had enough force behind it to crush both stopped vehicles.
Jose had planned to pull the little girl out, but traffic had prevented him from getting her door open in time. His own two children were now at immediate risk in the backseat of his SUV. Jose raced back to the Expedition, got in, and floored it.
The bus kept coming. It looked like it was going to crash into the Mercedes.
Just 15 or 20 feet behind the car with the little girl inside, the mammoth motor coach finally swerved into the right lane. It blasted past with such speed and force that it shook the Le Grands' SUV. Maria and Alexis screamed.
Jose, now another 50 or more feet down the skyway, put his Expedition back into park, ready to return to the Mercedes and to try to save the child inside.
As he jumped out of his car a second time, he saw that the Mercedes-Benz was on the move once again, coming back at them. In the rush and confusion, he hadn't turned the engine off.
He dashed back behind the wheel of the SUV, but before he could put it into gear, the Mercedes crashed into them again. Ignoring the jolt, Jose hit the brakes hard. The two cars slowed and, once again, came to a halt.
Wasting no time, Jose raced back to the Mercedes, slammed the car into park and then grabbed the little girl. She was crying hysterically, and he could not get her seat belt to unbuckle.
At last, he simply yanked the small child through the belt, then ran back to his SUV with her in his arms. He slid her into the backseat with Alexis and Blake. While Maria gave the 911 operators an update, little Alexis tried to comfort Reiko, who was still weeping. She took one of her stuffed bears and placed it in the child's arms, and her sobs diminished.
Police and EMS workers arrived in minutes. Jose Le Grand helped administer CPR to the unconscious driver, but he was past hope. Joseph Balagot was pronounced dead at 8：44 a.m.
Grace Sato got to the scene moments later. Frantic, but holding back tears, she jumped over the median into the confusion of whirling police lights and stopped cars. “Where's my daughter？” she cried. A man in a Yankees jersey pointed the way.
Reiko was crying and had a gash on her forehead, but otherwise the child seemed unhurt. She reached for her mother. Grace embraced her little girl and carried her to the car. Each of them was too overcome with emotion to speak.
At the hospital, Grace heard the sad news about her ex-husband. But her daughter was alive. It was a miracle, of the man-made kind. And, to Jose Le Grand, whose heart was as big as his mind was quick, Grace Sato will be forever grateful.