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In July 2013, a 10-year-old Colorado boy named Gryffin Sanders, saved his Great-Grandmother’s life and the humble hero credits Mario Kart for giving him the skills to do so. Gryffin was riding in a car with his 4-year-old brother when his Great-Grandma, 74-year-old Darlene Nestor, passed out behind the wheel.

“My Grandma Great was talking about some of the wildlife and stuff about the Great Plains when she passed out in the middle of a sentence,” he told KUSA TV. “My first thought was actually, ‘is this a test or what?'” Gryffin said. “I tried to wake her up at first.”

Driving between Cheyenne Wells to Golden, Colorado, the car was speeding along at 100km/h when Nestor fell unconscious. However, Gryffin kept a cool head. After realizing they were veering into oncoming traffic, he hopped out of the passenger seat and into action.

“I could see over the dashboard while I was driving, so I had an idea of where I was driving into. I couldn’t get to the brakes because my Grandma Great was in the way,” he said. Gryffin quickly steered the vehicle safely into a mud patch that ran parallel to the road.

His Great-Grandmother’s foot fell off the gas pedal, allowing the vehicle to slow to a stop in the mud-filled ditch. Gryffin and his younger brother were completely unharmed. A passerby stopped to call 911, and Nestor was eventually airlifted to a hospital, where she recovered. It was later reported that she had suffered a mild heart attack.

“My mom actually told me after, ‘I’m so glad that you turned into the ditch and didn’t freak out like I would have,” Gryffin said. “I guess I just had the instincts not to.” And those instincts seem to have been nurtured behind the controls of Mario Kart.

Hailed as a hero, Gryffin was rather modest in his response, ‘I want to be humble about this,’ he said. He went on to credit the popular Nintendo game for teaching him what to do behind the wheel. “I’m pretty good at go kart driving,” he laughed, “Mario Kart is my favourite game.”

[Source: NBC 9 News]