A Bay Minette family's vacation to the Great Smoky Mountains turned tragic last month when their vehicle was swept into flood waters that carried a mother and her “heroic” son downstream.

Lisa Jeffers remains in a Knoxville, Tenn., hospital where she had been on life-support until earlier this week.

Jeffers and husband Dennis were on vacation in Tennessee with their children, 11-year-old Cole, 10-year-old Emily and 18-year old Kyle, when the accident happened the afternoon of July 31.

"We were on our way to Dollywood from our rental cabin on a mountain, when we encountered a flash flood at the bottom of a steep road," Dennis Jeffers said. The vehicle slid off the road and crashed into a culvert — a conduit where fast-moving water can pass under or around a road — where it quickly became jammed.

Jeffers said Kyle acted quickly, exiting the truck and getting his two younger siblings to safety, handing them to people on top of the culvert.

"Lisa tried to exit next, but the force of the water pushed the vehicle on through the culvert with her and I inside," he said.

What happened next left bystanders wondering how the parents survived: the vehicle was turned upside-down as it went through the culvert, then knocked on its side as it emerged on the other side of the tunnel. The force of the water jarring the SUV threw Lisa from the vehicle into the rushing water.

"When Kyle saw her he jumped back into the water to try and grab her,” Dennis said. “The water was moving too fast, though, and she got swept down about half a mile until she got stopped by a bridge.

"Kyle knew I was still in the SUV, so he pushed it against some trees before he got swept down about a quarter-mile," Dennis said. Kyle’s quick thinking prevented the vehicle from sinking, buying his father some more time inside. Kyle then grabbed a branch and held on until rescue personnel could get to him.

Dennis, who at the time was unaware that his wife had been thrown from the vehicle, remained inside trying to find her.

"I stayed in the SUV looking for Lisa until the water filled the inside completely," he said. "When I saw a broken window, I figured Lisa had gotten out and crawled through that window."

He said bystanders confirmed for him that his wife was no longer in the truck, and a man with a backhoe lifted him off the top of the truck and onto dry ground where he was reunited with the two younger children.

"Lisa was pulled out by some people who saw her at the bridge and she was taken to the hospital by ambulance," he said.

Though the rest of the family escaped with minor injuries, Lisa was in critical condition. For several days she was on life support and dialysis, and remained unconscious.

"Lisa spent all last week hooked up to a respirator and dialysis machine," Dennis said Monday. "She had cuts and bruises on her head and her blood pressure was extremely low.

"By the grace of God and the University of Tennessee Medical Center, she is awake, alert and getting better," he said.

Dennis and Kyle are still at Lisa's side in Tennessee. Cole and Emily started school Monday, and are staying with family members until their mom is able to come home.

Dennis said the two are handling the traumatic event and their mother's hospitalization well.

A fund has been set up at Wachovia Bank, where Lisa works, to help the family, which lost a great deal of personal property in the accident, including cash and credit cards.

"Our friends and family have provided us with all we need at this time. I have to take some unpaid time off from work to take care of Lisa, so I am a little worried about the near future," Dennis said. "I know that we will be OK though."

Contributions can be given at any Wachovia Bank in the county.

Dennis said above all, he is amazed and thankful to his son Kyle.

"If Kyle had not pushed the SUV into those trees, it would have sank. He saved the lives of his little brother and sister, his father, and did his very best to save his mother. He is our hero," Jeffers said.