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GTA saves family from crashed car

Yes, you read that right...
We're still looking for the hidden, anti-Rockstar message in this piece of news: A teenager pulled her siblings to safety from their crashed family car after learning of the dangers from playing Grand Theft Auto.

The family of five was en route to visit relatives in Diamond, US when their Jeep Grand Cherokee drifted off the road, struck a guardrail and flipped four times before coming to rest upside-down in a ditch.

"She just knew, from playing 'Grand Theft Auto.' She saw on there that when a car rolls over, it can blow up. She knew that could happen to us," the child's mother Karen Norris told My Web Times.

Realising the back window had broken, 11-year-old daughter Audrey Plique climbed over the spare tyre to get out and then proceeded to pull her mother, father, two brothers and sister our of the battered vehicle.

"She showed the kind of bravery and courage you don't expect from an 11-year-old," Norris said. "She stayed composed. She sounded upset, but she knew the things she had to get done to help her parents and her siblings."

There you are then. The Daily Mail can use GTA as a scapegoat for crime, and we can use it for the opposite. Everyone buy GTA: it teaches you about car safety.

Spotted by Kotaku.

computerandvideogames.com
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Um, but what was an 11 year old doing playing GTA IV eh?
I can now see death trying to catch up with them, ala Final Destination
_Marty_ on 4 Sep '08
Beautiful.

Computer games save lives Very Happy
kyotu_o_shire on 4 Sep '08
Um, but what was an 11 year old doing playing GTA IV eh?
I can now see death trying to catch up with them, ala Final Destination

Thinking the same thing :/

Well, apart from the Final Destination reference. I tried to forget that film Razz
berelain on 4 Sep '08
But the car didn't explode - so not really worth doing.
chrisno21 on 4 Sep '08
Um, but what was an 11 year old doing playing GTA IV eh?
I can now see death trying to catch up with them, ala Final Destination

I was also wondering what the hell an 11 year old was doing playing GTA.

They'll probably blame her for causing the crash... that she was lining up a driveby shooting and the steering suddenly went all wonky.
TTDog on 4 Sep '08
I think the real question here is why was she playing GTA? Its rated 18/Mature!
steverulez on 4 Sep '08
I think we can say that, despite her being below the age required to play GTA, it had a (sort of) beneficial effect. I wonder if she thinks all of the things from GTA are real? Was she desperately trying to get her injured family members to the nearest prostitute to get their health back up? Laughing
ossie on 4 Sep '08
unfortunately, tomorrow's headline will be that the parents were charged for letting their 11 year old play GTA IV......or that she was driving the vehicle that flipped over Rolling Eyes
prevhog on 4 Sep '08
An 11 year old teenager? My goodness.
csdaveuk on 4 Sep '08
What a braw wee lass! Good on her and bless her little cotton socks.
You won't see this as a newspaper headline - more's the pity!
wudragon on 4 Sep '08
Still doesnt explain why an 11 year old had played GTA.
DAEDALUS79 on 4 Sep '08
An 11 year old teenager? My goodness.

Called Audrey...

Something doesn't add up here
jayson_90210 on 4 Sep '08
ROFL what a great story..

the fact that she played a 18 rated game is not really important in the scheme of things, her family was nearly wiped out.
Rodg75 on 4 Sep '08
Hmmm, what was more likely:

The car blowing up? (not very)
or the family suffering serious neck injuries meaning that in no circumstances should they be moved without the proper medical equipment? (very likely).

Tomorrows Daily Mail Headline:

SICK GTA PARALYSES FAMILY!!!!

Rolling EyesRolling Eyes
Sasquatch9999 on 4 Sep '08
What they DIDN'T report was that the car didn't drift off the road. It was rammed off the road by a kid who had carjacked a Tractor and barged them off the road after playing a 48 hour session of GTA4.
The_Johnson on 4 Sep '08
Lol that reminded me of my favourite GTA moment - engaged in a high-speed police chase through Broker in a baggage trolley I nicked from the airport. Absolutely hilarious!
morgadp on 4 Sep '08
Dead family if not for gta lol, playing it underage or not it saved life's is the point.

You have to learn things somewhere! i know how to do a few new footy tricks thanks to fifa and pro lol
nash121 on 4 Sep '08
What they DIDN'T report was that the car didn't drift off the road. It was rammed off the road by a kid who had carjacked a Tractor and barged them off the road after playing a 48 hour session of GTA4.

You can't get tractors on GTA IV! WinkLaughing
DG2010 on 4 Sep '08
That is the most pathetic GTA plug I have ever witnessed. Well done. They shouldn't have been driving like loons in the first place. And anyone with a brain would have known of the dangers without playing GTA4. Sheesh, it beggars belief sometimes.
Mark240473 on 4 Sep '08
I think what disturbs me more is the implication that the parents would have been otherwise unaware that maybe they ought to get out of their crashed car...
cjw101 on 4 Sep '08
She also knows that after visiting a prostitute, you should always run the bitch over to get all your money back....Bless!

Life imitating art - Achievement Unlocked!
B0MBJ4CK on 4 Sep '08
She then proceeded to shoot the ambulance crew when they arrived!
horngreen on 4 Sep '08
I wonder if she got her cell phone out and tried to enter some cheats
DAEDALUS79 on 4 Sep '08
I find it hard to believe that this really had anything to do with GTA any more than violent crime does. You don't just sit there in an upside-down vehicle, and 11 year olds shouldn't be playing 18 rated games.
White Thrall on 4 Sep '08
Dont quite understand the linking to GTA. Surely anyone would know that being in a car thats upside down is not a good place to be and they sound they would have just sat there if she didnt 'know what to do from GTA'....
casperthedog on 4 Sep '08
Sigh. Cars rareley explode on impact, she could have dome more damage if any of her family had spinal injuries.
Spiny on 4 Sep '08
Her parents should be arrested right now for allowing her to play an 18 rated game.
mintydog on 4 Sep '08
The point is that this teenager is not one of those retarded guys who goes around destroying property and generally doing bad things, its not the game that makes the man after all.
CrippledHooba on 4 Sep '08
Why are you all complaining here? We as gamers get some praise for once and we just complain about why she was playing it at 11? Surely we should be praising this story because the media was proven wrong and that games can help people.

Besides in the article it states that she SAW that cars could explode. Seeing does not mean she was the one playing it.

<Edit> Whoops just re-read it and saw that the mother said she had been playing it. Oh well big deal how many gamers played 18s when they were that young? A fair few I should imagine.
AJB123644 on 4 Sep '08
Why are you lot all idiots? the fact that the 11yo girl saved her family. yeh maybe she shouldn't have been playing GTA4, but she saw what could happen when a car rolls over, and didn't want her family to die if the car had caught on fire and exploded.

stop making it worst by saying she had a negative image from playing the game, SHE SAVED HER FAMILY FROM DEATH!!!!!
1589vaughan on 4 Sep '08
did they actually get a quote from the girl saying she learnt from GTA? There's so much wrong with that in terms of a news story.
I mean if it's the new GTA, not all cars necessarily explode when overturned.
I don't mind if she is 11 and playing GTA, I was young and I'm sure many of you were when you first started playing GTA. I just annoyed when parents buy it for their kids they go complain when they found out what it contains.
AlecRoss on 4 Sep '08
This message is not being displayed because the poster is banned.
a3HeadedMonkey on 4 Sep '08
She was one hard bitch - carrying a full grown (probably fat because he's American - haaaa!) man away from a car.

Mmm...firm.
Mintoxicator on 4 Sep '08
This message is not being displayed because the poster is banned.
k109 on 4 Sep '08
Most bizarre thing I've ever read
Samus on 4 Sep '08
did they actually get a quote from the girl saying she learnt from GTA? There's so much wrong with that in terms of a news story.
I mean if it's the new GTA, not all cars necessarily explode when overturned.
I don't mind if she is 11 and playing GTA, I was young and I'm sure many of you were when you first started playing GTA. I just annoyed when parents buy it for their kids they go complain when they found out what it contains.

Exactly what I was saying AlecRoss.

Also cars can explode if turned over. If the petrol tank gets snagged on something and the engine is still running or a spark comes from somewhere then boom.
AJB123644 on 4 Sep '08
Forget about all that crap. The thing that matters is that a 11 year old managed to pull her family out of a car. If you were 11 you would just sit there thinking, "if i move them i might give them spinal injuries2, you'd want to get them out of there.
$$johnman$$ on 4 Sep '08
the original GTA came out when I was under 18 and when I picked it up in Electronics Boutique, the shop assistant practically begged my mum to buy it for me. All I learnt though was random crates on the side of the road contain weapons and hearts.

Juicy hearts.
brad.storch on 4 Sep '08
Hmmm, what was more likely:

The car blowing up? (not very)
or the family suffering serious neck injuries meaning that in no circumstances should they be moved without the proper medical equipment? (very likely).

Tomorrows Daily Mail Headline:

SICK GTA PARALYSES FAMILY!!!!

Rolling EyesRolling Eyes

Laughing
lonewolf2002 on 4 Sep '08
Sorry but that is bulls**t, i'm all for praising games but that is complete crap, its like the man who said GTA saved my life because i was skidding on ice, but after playing GTA i knew to apply the brakes, well duh.
olih27 on 4 Sep '08
it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you've been in a car crash you should try to get out of the car, especially if its upside down. its just a coincidence that she has played GTA, it seems a bit stupid to say that GTA saved their lives.

i could say that if i hadn't played the sims and seen my sim die of starvation that the sims saved my life because only after playing it did i realised that you could die of starvation. EXTRA! EXTRA! sims saves boys' life.

Also i think its worth saying that it doesn't make much difference if a kid plays GTA or not. Im sixteen and i was playing GTA at 9! But i dont go around killing people and stealing cars.
stroypa on 4 Sep '08
i had an experience the other day which i thank gta for helping me know what to do in the situation , i was driving my car when a guy tried to "jack me" thanks to gta i instictivly knew that i should hit him , get back in car , run him over , get out of car , select flamethrougher and toast the bastard ,then i shot every moving thing until i was shot dead by the cops. at least i think thats what happened
lococol on 4 Sep '08
a3HeadedMonkey you JACKASS!!! just because it doesn't mention about the car being on fire, IT IS FULL OF PETROL.....PETROL IS FLAMMABLE.....PETROL EXPLODES.....IF IT WAS A HOT DAY, WHICH IT DOESN@T MENTION THE WEATHER EITHER, THERE IS MORE CHANCE OF THE CAR BURSTING INTO FLAMES AND KILLING THE GIRL's FAMILY

i haven't actually played GTA4 neither am i planning to in quite a while.

Why are you lot all idiots? the fact that the 11yo girl saved her family. yeh maybe she shouldn't have been playing GTA4, but she saw what could happen when a car rolls over, and didn't want her family to die if the car had caught on fire and exploded.

stop making it worst by saying she had a negative image from playing the game, SHE SAVED HER FAMILY FROM DEATH!!!!!

Seems like you're the idiot to me. Why would a car explode just because it rolled over? I think you play too much GTA.

Not once in the article did it mention the car was on fire. So she never saved anyone's life. Probably endangered their lives actually. Rolling Eyes
1589vaughan on 4 Sep '08
This message is not being displayed because the poster is banned.
Trahildian on 4 Sep '08
ahem forget that the car was on fire and that it probl wasnt the best to do. The little girl acted very bravey under the circumstances. I doubt she knew or cared about the dangers of spinal injuries
$$johnman$$ on 4 Sep '08
AHAHAHA! Laughing Petrol itself is not flammable dumbass, it's the fumes given off which catchfire.

Now who's the idiot! (hint; it's you)
BrOkEbRoKe on 4 Sep '08
And anyone with a brain would have known of the dangers without playing GTA4.

A 1 minute old baby has a brain, so according to you that baby would know that a flipped car was in danger of exploding.

No, I really don't think so. Nor do I think the average 11 year old would know that either.

You might want to try using your own brain next time!
nb_nmare2 on 4 Sep '08
AHAHAHA! Laughing Petrol itself is not flammable dumbass, it's the fumes given off which catchfire.

Now who's the idiot! (hint; it's you)

how does that make me a idiot? easy mistake to make.....but there again there would still be a chance the car could explode because of the fumes....as you just said.....from the petrol like i said......so i'm not a idiot
1589vaughan on 4 Sep '08
AHAHAHA! Laughing Petrol itself is not flammable dumbass, it's the fumes given off which catchfire.

Now who's the idiot! (hint; it's you)

Oh haha hahaha haaaaahahaha!
People are so stupid for saying petrol is flammable!

No really... Rolling Eyes

Anyway... I think the girl was really brave to do what she did, and you're all just too cynical and unable to be pleased to give her some credit for attempting to save her families life. The moaners will be the ones who can kill anyone online on CoD4 or Halo or whatever, but when it comes to real life, they still have their noses blown by their mums and they're all about 40. So they are just envious because an 11 year old girl is more suited to life outside a dark room with real people than they are.

Nobody cares if she was playing GTA underage, i really dont think thats the story being pointed out... Give her some credit!

I apologise if i just offended anyone, but it annoyed me to see so many people critisicing her for doing something so brave and that which defies her age/maturity.

Rant over. Honest.
Wellyz on 4 Sep '08
Remember that age ratings are just guidelines. I'm sure she didn't buy the game herself which is where the problem would be.

On a different note which no one seems to have noticed, I'm wondering how CVG thinks a 11 year old is a teenager...
dark_gamer on 4 Sep '08
So the parents needed there daughter to tell them to get out of the upside down car? Are they that stupid?
So if that girl never played GTA at this very moment the entire family would just be hanging there?

I think the parents should learn how to drive with Gran Turismo...
The Kool Kid on 4 Sep '08
So the parents needed there daughter to tell them to get out of the upside down car? Are they that stupid?
So if that girl never played GTA at this very moment the entire family would just be hanging there?

I think the parents should learn how to drive with Gran Turismo...

Laughing That is so true! "Hmm... I wish I'd played a video game with a flipped over car, then I'd know what to do. Oh well, in the meantime I'll just stay here and let the blood rush to my head. Lucky we played that game that tells you how to breathe, eh?"

Also, as many people have said, 11 year-old playing GTA? Do you think that the f*sting jokes may be the next thing the kid tells mummy and daddy about?
Random Hangman on 5 Sep '08
1. If you were all 11 (just imagine it) are you telling me you wouldnt of played GTA? Because your too young?

2.oh no shes played GTA, obviously shes gonna grow up and be a killer!

3.Although she is a little trooper, i doubt it was cos she played GTA that she got out, more like common sense

4. I wish watever i played i would learn skill instantly. I could be a boxer, racer or polaroid pete!!!

5.Now im off to play GTA..than go out, kill as many people as i can then go change paint coulr of car (gloss?) and go home without no one ever knowin Razz
slick loose on 5 Sep '08
1. If you were all 11 (just imagine it) are you telling me you wouldnt of played GTA? Because your too young?

2.oh no shes played GTA, obviously shes gonna grow up and be a killer!

3.Although she is a little trooper, i doubt it was cos she played GTA that she got out, more like common sense

4. I wish watever i played i would learn skill instantly. I could be a boxer, racer or polaroid pete!!!

5.Now im off to play GTA..than go out, kill as many people as i can then go change paint coulr of car (gloss?) and go home without no one ever knowin Razz

May I suggest a "spelling/grammar" game of some sort for starters?
Random Hangman on 5 Sep '08
Right so heres what i don't get, why would an 11 year old teenager need to play an 18 game that involved cars that crash exploding to teach her to get people out of dangerous smashed up car? What possible proof is there that she learn`t it from GTA? Now i don't play it but is there a part of the game where you get other people out of a crashed car or does the guy just get out and start shooting at whoever forced him off the road? Its just like the anti gta new story`s, if someone see`s a guy rob a shop in a game does that guy automatically go and do it himself? When will the papers learn to stop trying to piece together gta and news about brave, smart children and idiots shooting at people?
ding333 on 6 Sep '08
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