Agency report
 
Charlotte, Mar 5: Emily Lineberger missed her gymnastics class this week, but thanks to the 11-year-old's heroics, she and her mother survived what could have been a tragic car wreck.

Emily was riding in the back seat of the family car on Tuesday when her mother, Dayna Lineberger, started feeling lightheaded. Ulcerative colitis had caused Lineberger to feel faint before, so she decided to get food at a nearby restaurant.

"Then it just hit me," said Lineberger, 40. "The last thing I remember is screaming to her, `Tell me where to turn,' because I couldn't see. ..."

While heading into the restaurant parking lot, Lineberger's head rolled back and she passed out, Emily said.

"I just screamed like crazy," Emily said.

She leaned forward and grabbed the wheel. Her mother's foot was still on the gas pedal, but Emily steered to avoid a car before their car hit a telephone pole and stopped — unharmed.

Doctors later said Lineberger was dehydrated from the colitis.

"It was just her instinct and God riding on her shoulders," Lineberger said.