In Life-or-Death Situations, Kids Are Proving Superheroes Come in All Ages: ‘Look Out for Each Other’

They may be small, but that didn’t stop children like Mariah Gallaway, 8, from coming to the rescue

In just a split second, these quick-thinking kids sprung into action and saved lives. Now PEOPLE is recognizing the real-life heroes in this week's issue.

From stopping a moving car to help an ailing great-grandmother to saving baby cousins from a burning home, these brave children do whatever it takes. Read their incredible stories below.

Second Grader Rescues Great-Grandmother Pinned Under Car

Mariah Gallaway, 8 (pictured above)

It was a typical January afternoon. Patricia Lynch, 80, picked up her great-granddaughter Mariah Galloway from school and drove the then-second grader to her West Bloomfield, Mich., home. But as Lynch stepped out of her SUV, she mistakenly placed the vehicle in reverse instead of park.

“The car kept moving — and I was in it,” recalls Mariah, now 8. “She tried to stop it and couldn’t.”

Lynch’s foot became lodged below the front left tire, which rolled over her legs, leaving her pinned underneath.

Related: Calif. Teen Rescued From Bridge After Equipment Fails While Filming Stunt on Video

“I was crying a lot,” says Mariah, “and scared.”

Still, the schoolgirl jumped from the back seat and pulled the key from the ignition, stopping the car from rolling.

“I’ve always watched her pull the key out,” says Mariah, who sprinted to her front door — a heroic moment captured by a security camera — and rang the doorbell while screaming for help for her mother inside.

“I was shocked because I didn’t know what happened,” says Mariah’s mom, Porchia Lane, 35. ”Blood was everywhere.”

Paramedics rushed the retired accountant to a hospital, where she remained for three weeks. Miraculously neither leg was broken, but Lynch sustained serious injury to her right leg, making it difficult to walk.

Looking back on the nightmare, she’s grateful to Mariah, who hopes to become a doctor. “She dashed to the door to get help for me,” says Lynch. “She is a good, smart girl. She will always be my heart.”

For more on hero kids, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.

Brothers Save Friend from Drowning

Weston Woods, 8, and Noah Roche, 12

On a lazy day in June, Noah Roche was chilling at his apartment complex’s pool in Fenton, Mich., when he noticed his friend, Griffin Emerson, then 7, in distress.

“He was at the bottom of the pool,” recalls Noah, 12. “He wasn’t really moving except his arms were just wiggling a tiny bit.”

Noah immediately dispatched his younger brother Weston Woods, 8, to go to the deep end of the pool.

“I had goggles on and dived there,” says Weston. “I saw Griffin’s eyes were shut, and I quickly picked him up. Then his head started going up and down. I thought he was dead.”

With help from an adult, Weston lifted Griffin to safety while Griffin’s mom performed CPR until paramedics arrived. Fortunately, Griffin quickly regained consciousness and has made a full recovery.

“Those two boys are heroes,” says Griffin’s grandfather, Tom Kinczkowski, 61. “Their ability to think quickly and to get Griffin out of the pool saved him. If it wasn’t for them, Griffin wouldn’t be here.”

Related: 8-Year-Old Boy Honored with 'Hero Award' for Saving Classmate from Choking on a Chicken Nugget

Boy Saves Grandmother and Cousins in Fire

Asaya Chavez, 10

As smoke permeated Anna Jaramillo’s Santa Fe home in May, her grandson Asaya Chavez put down his video-game controller and ran to the living room. A fire in the corner, started by a space heater and accelerated by Jaramillo’s oxygen tanks, was quickly spreading.

Remembering a firefighter visit to his school, Asaya, 10, knew exactly what to do.

“They told us if you smell smoke, get out and evacuate everybody,” recalls Asaya, who quickly helped his 64-year-old grandmother to safety.

Then he rushed back into the burning house – first to grab his baby cousin, Armani, 11 months, and then to rescue his cousin, Joe, 2. (A homeless man noticed the blaze and jumped a fence to rescue Asaya’s cousin Santiago, 15, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.)

Moments later, “the roof started to crack and fell,” Asaya says.

Although everything in her house was destroyed, Jaramillo feels relieved: “We’re all safe. That’s all that matters,” she says, breaking into tears. ”Asaya did it all.”

Granddaughter Revives Grandmother with CPR

Aubrey Johnson, 11

A loud thump alarmed Aubrey Johnson as she watched YouTube videos at home in Catlettsburg, Ky., in March. After running to the living room, she discovered that her grandmother Donna Duncan, 55, had fallen out of the wheelchair and was unresponsive on the floor.

Related: Faced With Deadly Danger, Davyon Johnson, 11, Sprang Into Action: 'I Saved 2 People's Lives In 1 Day' 

Aubrey and her grandfather, Jackie Conley, 69, tried to wake up Duncan to no avail, so Aubrey quickly called 911.

“They didn’t know that I was a child,” says Aubrey, 11, who has lived with her grandparents since her mother died in 2019. “They told me to check to see if she was breathing and to check her pulse.”

With her phone on speaker, Aubrey followed the dispatcher’s instructions and correctly performed CPR on Duncan for 10 minutes until paramedics arrived.

“If it wasn’t for Aubrey, I wouldn’t be here,” says Duncan, who suffered a cardiac arrest and spent five nights in the hospital, but has since made a full recovery from the incident.

Adds Conley, who often takes his granddaughter fishing: “Aubrey is amazing.”

Seventh Grader Steers School Bus to Safety

Dillon Reeves, 13

Seventh grader Dillon Reeves, of Warren, Mich., was on his way home from school in April when he looked out the window and saw the bus veering into oncoming traffic.

Related: Kid Hero Speaks Out After His 'Swift Actions' Prevent School Bus Crash: 'Look Out for Each Other'

”The driver’s hands weren’t on the wheel, and her foot wasn’t on the pedal,” he says.

Determining that she was unconscious, Dillon, 13, grabbed the steering wheel and slowly pressed the brake to bring the bus to a standstill as dozens of kids were screaming.

”It was chaotic, and I said, ‘Someone call 911!” says Dillon.

Warren police and emergency responders arrived within minutes to treat the driver, and all 60 students disembarked with no injuries.

“Dillon had developed the skills of observation. Instead of looking at his phone, he sprang into action quickly. I encourage all students to be ready for the unexpected,” says Warren Mayor James Fouts, who honored the teen with a key to the city.

“He is a shining example of a good citizen," Fouts adds. "He helped avoid a disastrous situation.”

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.