Pennington, a registered nurse first assistant at WakeMed in Raleigh, N.C., sustained rib fractures, muscle damage, and severe bruising from her seat belt. Son Hunter had seat belt and air bag bruises and glass cuts, but 11-year-old Caitlin, who took the brunt of the crash, was unconscious, not breathing, her head lying on the seatback.

Pennington, minus a shoe, hurried to Caitlin, but the door wouldn’t open. Leaning through the shattered window, she began rescue breathing. “She had lacerations all over and lost teeth, so I was pulling clots from her mouth while breathing,” Pennington says. “Her neck was unstable, so I held it while leaning through the window and breathing, giving it all I had. The ambulance came in 10 minutes that seemed like forever.”