Talk to anyone over the age of 40 about video games and you’ll likely hear the opinion that games have very little real world value in the skills they teach, but that’s not so for a 10 year old Colorado boy who managed to save both his great-grandmother and his brother’s life.
According to the news report, 10 year-old Gryffin Sanders was riding in the car in the passenger seat with his 74 year-old grandmother behind the wheel. His 4 year-old brother was in the backseat. Gryffin’s grandmother passed out behind the wheel and Gryffin promptly took over the situation.
My Grandma Great was talking about some of the wildlife and stuff about the Great Plains when she passed out in the middle of a sentence.
“My first thought was actually, ‘is this a test or what?’ I tried to wake her up at first.
After receiving no response from his grandmother and realizing the car was beginning to veer into oncoming traffic, Gryffin hopped out of the passenger seat in order to take control of the situation.
I could see over the dashboard while I was driving, so I had an idea of where I was driving into. I couldn’t get to the brakes because my Grandma Great was in the way.
Despite not being able to stop the car, Gryffin quickly guided the runaway vehicle into a mud patch that ran parallel with the road and his grandmother’s foot fell off the gas pedal, finally bringing the vehicle to a slow stop. Both Gryffin and his brother were completely unharmed thanks to Gryffin’s quick thinking. His grandmother was transported to a local area hospital were it was determined that she had suffered a mild heart attack.
Gryffin was quick to give credit to his favorite game when asked how he managed to take control of the vehicle.
“I’m pretty good at go kart driving,” he laughed, “Mario Kart is my favourite game.”
While Mario Kart may not be the most realistic driving game, it seems the skills imparted to young Gryffin helped him remain calm and take control of a situation no 10 year-old should ever find himself in.
