An 11-year-old girl who survived a Michigan plane crash that killed her father and three other people was released Wednesday from a rehabilitation hospital.
“She’s Laney, she’s great and she’s our miracle,” said Christie Perdue of Gaylord, referring to daughter Laney Perdue.
Laney was one of five people in a plane that crashed on Beaver Island off Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula on Nov. 13. The family believes Laney survived because her father, Mike, shielded her during the crash.
Laney was released from Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids.
“We’ve gone from no walking to a wheelchair to a walker and now to crutches,” Christie Perdue told WOOD-TV. “Her goal was to go home on crutches.”
Mike Perdue died, along with the pilot and a couple. The crash is being investigated by a federal transportation agency.
“Our community has just surrounded us with love,” Christie Perdue said. “Laney’s getting letters from schools all over Michigan, letters from New York and Minnesota, and we are just so grateful.”