LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A Louisville family said they narrowly survived Tuesday’s deadly UPS plane crash near Embry’s Auto Parts, sprinting away from flames with seconds to spare.
“We escaped death,” Mary Ballenger said.
Ballenger was sitting in her car with her children and grandchildren, waiting to pick up her husband from work when she saw the unimaginable.
“I looked up, seen a plane really low, then seen smoke and flames and literally the nose of the plane was pointed right at us,” she said.
Ballenger said she pulled the children down inside the car for cover.
“I saw an airplane crashing down and I got scared," her 6-year-old grandson, Hayden, said.
Then came a second blast.
“I knew I had seconds to get my kids out of there or we was all gonna die,” Ballenger said. “I looked up and I said, ‘Now,’ and I opened the door and we all jumped and we took off.”
The family sprinted across the street as her husband rushed out of Embry’s. Video shows them running from flames behind the blue building.
Ballenger’s husband drove their car away from the fire and straight to the hospital. The explosion burst Ballenger's eardrum.
“I cannot hear out of my left ear at all,” she said.
Her granddaughter, Racheal, was also injured when she burned her hand. The family’s car was left charred.
“There’s still jet fuel all over it," said Ballenger. "When we got out we were covered in jet fuel."
The family was left traumatized. Ballenger said 6-year-old Hayden is now terrified of airplanes. But, they said they feel blessed to have survived.
“But by the grace of God we’re still here,” Ballenger said.
“God saved us,” Hayden added.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support the Ballenger family.
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