Woman rescues mom, 4-year-old after night spent in bitter cold

A hunch that something was wrong made Killarney, Man.,lab technicianTina Dubytsturn her car around Monday morningwhen she was on her wayto work.

That decision may have saved the lives of Kristen Hiebert, 26, and her four-year-old daughter, Avery.

"I didn't actually see anything, but something got my attention," Dubytsremembered on Wednesday.

As Dubytsheaded back toward Dunrea, Man., at about 7 a.m., shesaw a visibly injured Hiebert trying to climb a guardrail.

The Boissevain mother and her daughter had spent10 to12 hours freezing in a ditch afterHiebert's car slid off Highway 23. The car wreck wasnot visible from the road in the dark the sun had set at 5 p.m. the previous evening and didn't rise until after 8 a.m.

When Dubyts sawKristen, shewas wearing only socks, blue jeans, a hoodie and a jacket. Dubyts remembers Kristen's hair and clothingwere white with frost,and her hand was clearly frostbitten. Dubyts checked her car's thermometerand it read19 C outside. Overnight temperatures had fallen below25 C, according to Environment Canada.

"She was in shock. She was obviously frozen," said Dubyts. "She just kept talking about her daughter."

Child found lying insnow

After calling for help, Dubyts flashedher phone's light down into the ditchto see where the child might be. The first thing she saw was Hiebert's car.

"All I said to 911 was 'I think we need the Jaws of Life,' because I didn't think that little girl was going to be alive in there," said Dubyts.

But the four-year-old was alive. Dubyts found her curled upin the fetal position near the spot where apassenger-side tire once was.

Dubyts picked Avery up and climbed out of the icyditch. Shewrapped the girlin a blanket and placed her in the backseat of her car.

Another driverwho stopped, a nurse from Brandon,helped comfort Avery as Dubyts and two men who also stoppedcarefully lifted Kristen into Dubyts'car to wait for firefighters from Ninette and STARS air ambulance to arrive.

Kristen, Avery recovering at HSC: sister

Hiebert'sarms were broken, and she suffered a cracked rib as well as frostbite on her knees, lower legs and feet.

Avery only had scrapes and frostbite on one foot, saidMikaylaHiebert, Kristen's younger sister, who fought back tears as she talked about the crash on Wednesday morning.One of Avery's boots was lost during the accident.

With few cars passing by, Hiebert had kept her daughter warm overnight by lying on top of her, said Mikayla Hiebert.

"Her mom did an amazing job," Mikayla said.

"She's the hero. I don't know how she went through all that pain,"Dubytssaid aboutHiebert.

"She had the will to live, that girl."

Hiebertand Avery are recovering at Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg.Mikaylaexpects both will be there for some time.

Morgan Campbell, a longtime friend of Hiebert, created a GoFundMe page for the family, the Kristen and Avery Recovery Fund. So far, it has raised more than $15,000.

"You can't make her bones heal for her, but you want to ensure that the support is there for her to recover," Campbell said.

Shesaid as of Wednesday afternoon, Hiebertwas in stable condition in hospital.

"Her voice sounds a bit weak, but she was in high spirits," Campbellsaid of her friend.

"I told her about the gofundme page and she seemed a bit overwhelmed with emotion, as we both were. It's hard to hear your friend in pain."