Kotaku picked up a mighty fine scoop of a news story coming out of Streator, Illinois, of an 11 year old girl who managed to save the lives of her family following a car accident because of - get this - something she learnt from Grand Theft Auto.

In your face, Fox News! (I’d use Jack Thompson but he’s not really around any more so Fox is the next best thing.) Hit the jump for more, along with some other excuses you could use to play Grand Theft Auto under the stern eye of your local killjoy.

According to the article published on MyWebTimes.com, 11-year-old Audrey Plique and her family crashed off of the road in their Jeep when her father felt lightheaded and let the car drift into a crash barrier. Rolling four times, it eventually came to a halt on its side. With her younger siblings in a panic in their seat restraints and her parents unable to see, having lost their glasses in the crash, Audrey leapt to the rescue and hurriedly scurried out the smashed rear window to drag her family out of the wreck.

When her mother was asked why Audrey was so quick to take action, she simply remarked that her daughter had played Grand Theft Auto and knew that cars that were on their side or upside down had a tendency to blow up in a relatively short amount of time. Slight automotive physics issues aside (cars don’t always blow up the moment they land on their side, despite what GTA might have you believe) you can only applaud bravery from someone so young, even if their naivety played a huge part in taking action.

What also remains questionable is the fact that an 11-year-old girl was playing Grand Theft Auto. This is either some very bad parenting, some very responsible parenting or (obviously) a call to drop all age ratings on video games, since an M-rated game (18+ in the UK) taught this girl a lesson in how to save lives. Surely this means that GTA should have an E-rating since it reflects real life.

This gets me thinking about why a game that is rated 18+ depicts things that people younger than that age may see in real life, such as hit-and-runs and even street brawls. I’m not saying that it’s right that people see these things (they are truly dreadful things to witness, naturally) but surely a game that reflects real life needs no rating? Then again, maybe I’ve blurred the line where sarcasm and stupid-but-genuine thoughts meet and gone too far. I’ll stop now.

But before I do, here are some more excellent reasons as to why you should be able to play Grand Theft Auto, in a handy cut-out-and-keep guide for all you kids out there to make and show to your parents. Enjoy, and play safe!

Click for full size!

Grand Theft Auto helps preteen rescue family from crashed car - Kotaku

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