Fernley girl, 8, hailed as hero, rescued sister

FERNLEY, Nev. — An 8-year-old Fernley girl is being hailed as a hero for rescuing her sister in a traffic accident near Fallon last month.

The Nevada Highway Patrol plans to recognize Rylee Sweetser during a ceremony on Friday at East Valley Elementary School. The patrol says her determination to save her family “outweighed her own fear.”

Sweetser, her brother and sister were passengers in an SUV driven by their mother, Jamie Sweetser, that was struck Aug. 14 by another vehicle on U.S. Highway 50.

The SUV rolled onto its roof and the mother crawled out a side window but couldn’t get any doors open so pulled out the rear window.

Hanging upside down, Rylee unhooked her own seat belt then helped her sister to safety before heading back to help her brother.