A Stranger's Life-Saving Move: 5 Most Brilliant Stories of the Week

A pair of life-saving moments make the list:

• After Crash, She Held His Head Straight. It Saved Him: Brandy Gonzalez was driving from Nevada to Idaho with 4-year-old son Killian when their car smashed into another. Leah Woodward and her husband came upon the scene and stopped to help, and Leah ended up holding Killian's head still for more than a half-hour until help arrived. It turns out he had suffered a gruesome injury, and his family says Leah's actions saved his life.
• Mom Uses 'Hey Siri' to Save Baby: Stacey Gleeson noticed her daughter, Giana, wasn't breathing, and as she rushed to perform CPR, she dropped her iPhone. While she started CPR, she shouted, "Hey Siri, call the ambulance." It worked.
• Vet With No Family Gets Special Sendoff: When Army Maj. Jaspen Boothe heard about Serina Vine, she knew she had to do something. Vine, a veteran of World War II, died May 21 at age 91 with no known surviving family. Boothe learned that there were only going to be four people attending Vine's funeral at Virginia's Quantico National Cemetery, and "that didn't sit right with me," she says. Result? A lot more than four people showed up.

• Mother Reunites With Kidnapped Son After 21 Years: In 1995, things were rocky between Maria Mancia and her husband, and one day after work, Mancia returned to their California apartment to discover that he'd left with their 18-month-old son, Steven. She reported the kidnapping to police, but two decades passed, and she never saw her boy. Then, last week, detectives showed up at her house with the news she'd been waiting for.
• Couple With 3 Kids Takes in 6 More: When Beth Laitkep's breast cancer spread to her brain and spine, doctors knew she didn't have much time. But what should be done with her six children? "She said to me, 'If a miracle doesn't happen and I don't make it, can you take my children as your own,'" her friend Stephanie Culley recalls. "And I immediately said yes."

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