Toddler survives 45 mph ride atop camper

The little girl with the kung fu grip!

Poor Dad-he feels bad

GAINESVILLE, Ga.
http://www.wkyc.com

It’s a small miracle that a little 3-year-old girl is even alive after a perilous ride.

The Georgia toddler somehow climbed on top the camper on her father’s pickup truck, then hung on for dear life when the truck started moving at speeds approaching 45 miles per hour.

Her dad had no idea she was there.

Carey Whitlow had a quick errand to run on Tuesday afternoon.

“He had actually kissed us goodbye and had went out once,” said Christa’s mom Colleen.

“And we have a habit of circling our vehicles before we get in them. He circled his vehicle and realized he forgot his phone and went back into the house and got his phone.”

That’s when Christa climbed on top of her dad’s camper, wanting to ride along.

Carey drove off, unaware of his precious cargo.

Christa apparently gripped onto the top of her dad’s camper for five whole miles.

Police said they found where she apparently let go and fell from the camper.

A passing driver said he saw her fall, and then the little girl got back up and chased after her dad.

“She said she got tired and stepped off and fell,” Carey said, “I didn’t know. That’s what hurt the most.”

The sight of her wounds hurt him deeply.

“You know, thinking what-if,” Carey said, “People say don’t think about that. But we do.”

It wasn’t long after he left that Colleen called Carey, panicked.

Christa was missing. No one could find her at home.

They soon found their miracle, Christa, cozy in her hospital bed, feeling a little guilty herself.

“She smiled, and I bent down to kiss her, and she licks my face,” Carey said. “You know she’s being playful like ‘Sorry, Dad.’ She thought she was in trouble. All she wanted to know if she was a good girl or not.”

Christa severely skinned her face, arms, and legs. She was scheduled to be released from the hospital on Thursday. But because of her injuries, doctors are keeping her overnight.

“You know as a parent, you feel like your job is to love and protect your child,” Colleen said.

“And of course, we feel like we’ve let her down.”

“At this time, we don’t believe foul play was involved,” said Gainesville Police Major Jeff Strickland. “But it’s still under investigation.”

Poor Christa, has a few small boo boos and one hell of a story.