No one expects a fun family vacation to end in a terrifying crash. But that’s what happened to Elvia Rascon and her family as they were heading home to Perryton, Texas, from Florida on a rainy August morning. “I remember the car literally sliding, like it was on ice,” recalls Elvia.

Their Cadillac Escalade, driven by Elvia’s 21-year-old son, Alex, was heading north on Highway 287 in Henrietta, Texas, when it hydroplaned off the road and went over the embankment. It rolled over several times and landed passenger-side down on the south side of the highway. “It happened in the blink of an eye,” says Elvia.

“My husband started asking everyone if they were OK, and then we heard a woman’s voice ask, ‘Were you just in a crash?’” says Elvia. It was the OnStar Emergency Advisor,* whose voice came over the speakers once the vehicle came to a stop.*

The Advisor immediately contacted First Responders, while also offering medical assistance, checking on the family’s condition and staying on the line with the Rascons until help arrived.

First Responders soon arrived and safely got the family out of the vehicle. Bystanders at the crash scene even helped keep Elvia’s son Eddy, who has special needs, warm and dry from the rain.

“Things could’ve been a lot worse,” says Elvia, whose Escalade was totaled. Luckily, everyone was wearing their seatbelts and there weren’t many cars around as it was early on a Sunday when the crash happened. “When we talk about it, we still get so emotional because any one of us could’ve been severely impacted that day,” she says.

“I never thought that I would need OnStar,” says Rascon. “But it gives you a sense of security. They’re there no matter what.”