A 12-year-old boy who took control of a car travelling at 60mph after his mother passed out at the wheel has been honoured with a Pride of Britain Child of Courage Award. Zac Howells and his mum, Nicola Crump, appeared on Good Morning Britain to recount the incident, which took place last year while they were driving from their home in South Wales to a Christmas market in Warwickshire.
When Nicola began to feel ill, she suddenly blacked out, and Zac grabbed the wheel to prevent a potentially devastating high-speed collision. He managed to steer the car into the central barrier before calling emergency services.
A Terrifying Ordeal on the Motorway
Good Morning Britain presenters Susanna Reid and Ed Balls praised Zac's bravery, with Reid noting he had "seconds to act" during the emergency. Nicola described blacking out due to low blood pressure and waking to find the car on the wrong side of the road.
She told the presenters: "When I woke up, I remember looking over the dash and seeing we were on the other side of the road. I was like, have we crashed? He was like, 'Yeah, but we're fine, don't worry about it, we're alright'. He just kept me so calm; in his voice, he was calm. Then, when I went to hold his hand, he was trembling, physically trembling. I think the adrenaline got him through; he was just in survival mode."
A Calm Voice on the 999 Call
ITV viewers heard the 999 call, which Ed described as "astonishing". In the recording, Zac could be heard calmly describing the situation before telling the handler he was "really scared". As his mum began to regain consciousness, he reassured her, saying: "Calm down, it's fine, hold my hand. You ok? Mum, breathe. It's fine, I just drove the car, it's really easy. I'm worried about you, not me. I'm fine."
After the recording, Ed remarked: "It's impossible not to laugh at that, I mean it's a very serious situation." Susanna replied: "I'm in tears listening to it, oh my goodness."
Reflecting on the Life-Saving Moment
Nicola told the presenters she realised her son had saved her life, adding: "It was only this week I sat and thought, I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't have survived that crash if he wasn't in the car that day. I would've just kept accelerating until I had come to a stop. I can't believe how calm he was."
Zac revealed that roughly seven minutes into the emergency call, his mum began to regain consciousness, saying: "When I saw my mum was coming round, It was a massive relief."
Viewers can watch Zac receive his Pride of Britain Award on Thursday night, October 22. Good Morning Britain airs on ITV weekdays from 6am.
