Alaska plane crash survivor: "I just felt like, 'Am I gonna die?'"
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SEATTLE -- After seven surgeries, a teenager who was badly burned in a plane crash is finally well enough to leave the hospital and share her story of survival.
Rachel Zientek doesn't remember much about the fiery plane crash in Alaska that landed her in Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
"I just felt like, 'Am I gonna die?'" she said.
On board with the 16-year-old from Houston were family friends - a couple who'd hired Zientek to watch their young sons in Anchorage for the summer.
"I was screaming when I saw the flames. I held the young boy. His name was Hudson," she said.
The Cessna 206 clipped the roof of a motel and crashed in front of an unoccupied former car lot office, sparking a fire. Bystanders rushed to help those on board.
"First they pulled out the pilot, then they then pulled out Rachel. And she handed the boy to someone outside the plane," said father Michael Zientek.
The 4-year-old didn't survive, and three others, including a 2-year-old boy, were critically burned.
"He was the first boy I babysat when they came to Texas," said Rachel Zientek of the 4-year-old victim.
The teen survivor suffered burns on more than 20 percent of her body. The tips of her toes were amputated.
"We were real nervous," said Dr. Nicole Gibran. "(It took) multiple operations to be where she is now."
But doctors believe with physical therapy and maybe a few more surgeries, Rachel Zientek will be able to run again and return to playing basketball.
"She had epilepsy and diabetes," said mother Tammy Zientek. "God has a plan for her. Not much more that can happen to her."
Rachel Zientek's father was just recovering from a severe injury when the crash occurred. He is a Houston police officer who was injured while chasing a bank robber.
The other three crash survivors are hospitalized in Portland, and facing a long recovery.
Rachel Zientek doesn't remember much about the fiery plane crash in Alaska that landed her in Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
"I just felt like, 'Am I gonna die?'" she said.
On board with the 16-year-old from Houston were family friends - a couple who'd hired Zientek to watch their young sons in Anchorage for the summer.
"I was screaming when I saw the flames. I held the young boy. His name was Hudson," she said.
The Cessna 206 clipped the roof of a motel and crashed in front of an unoccupied former car lot office, sparking a fire. Bystanders rushed to help those on board.
"First they pulled out the pilot, then they then pulled out Rachel. And she handed the boy to someone outside the plane," said father Michael Zientek.
The 4-year-old didn't survive, and three others, including a 2-year-old boy, were critically burned.
"He was the first boy I babysat when they came to Texas," said Rachel Zientek of the 4-year-old victim.
The teen survivor suffered burns on more than 20 percent of her body. The tips of her toes were amputated.
"We were real nervous," said Dr. Nicole Gibran. "(It took) multiple operations to be where she is now."
But doctors believe with physical therapy and maybe a few more surgeries, Rachel Zientek will be able to run again and return to playing basketball.
"She had epilepsy and diabetes," said mother Tammy Zientek. "God has a plan for her. Not much more that can happen to her."
Rachel Zientek's father was just recovering from a severe injury when the crash occurred. He is a Houston police officer who was injured while chasing a bank robber.
The other three crash survivors are hospitalized in Portland, and facing a long recovery.
