{"id":22769,"date":"2026-09-03T13:04:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T17:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=22769"},"modified":"2026-09-03T13:04:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T17:04:01","slug":"taylor-swift-donates-50k-to-mom-seriously-injured-saving-teens-from-highway-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2026\/09\/taylor-swift-donates-50k-to-mom-seriously-injured-saving-teens-from-highway-crash.html","title":{"rendered":"Taylor Swift Donates $50K to Mom Seriously Injured Saving Teens From Highway Crash"},"content":{"rendered":"
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@3littlelambshomestead \/ Instagram | Inset: Featureflash Photo Agency \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A mother\u2019s split-second decision to save a teenager\u2019s life has inspired an outpouring of support \u2014 including a $50,000 donation from Taylor Swift.<\/p>\n

Ashley Taunton, a 42-year-old certified nursing assistant, was driving on I-95 in Rhode Island during a torrential rainstorm in July when she saw a vehicle hydroplane off the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I see there\u2019s somebody in trouble, I tend to want to go help,\u201d Taunton told PEOPLE<\/em>.<\/p>\n

She pulled over, told her young daughter to stay in their vehicle and went to check on the three teenagers involved in the crash. They appeared shaken but relatively okay.<\/p>\n

Then another vehicle hydroplaned and came barreling toward them.<\/p>\n

With only seconds to react, Taunton pushed the teenager closest to her out of the way and took the impact herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just felt like a big explosion,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI just remember being on the ground and I could see my ankle was just hanging there. I went to try to get up and I couldn\u2019t breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taunton suffered devastating injuries, including damage to multiple organs, broken ribs and a ruptured diaphragm that caused one of her lungs to collapse. She underwent several surgeries and could face up to a year of recovery and physical therapy.<\/p>\n

Lying injured along the highway, Taunton feared she might not make it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I had internal bleeding,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought, \u2018That was it.\u2019 Then in the ambulance as well, I was just praying \u2014 I didn\u2019t want to die.\u201d<\/p>\n

She survived, and looking back, Taunton says she can see God at work throughout what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so in awe of how evident God\u2019s hand has been in all of this,\u201d she told PEOPLE<\/em>. \u201cHe just put all the right people in all the right places.\u201d<\/p>\n

That feeling only grew when Taunton discovered who she had saved.<\/p>\n

The teenager she pushed out of the vehicle\u2019s path, Vinny, turned out to be the son of a woman Taunton had been friends with for 14 years. Neither Taunton nor the teen realized their connection at the scene.<\/p>\n

When Vinny\u2019s mother learned what had happened, Taunton recalled her reaction: \u201cOh my gosh, that was Ashley? She saved my son\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Taunton recovered, support poured in. A fundraiser for her family raised tens of thousands of dollars, and Taylor Swift added a $50,000 donation of her own.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is absolutely mind-blowing and so very humbling,\u201d Taunton wrote on Instagram after learning about Swift\u2019s gift.<\/p>\n

She ended her message by pointing the attention back to her faith: \u201cThank you Jesus for so many amazing humans. This is unbelievable and I am overwhelmed with gratitude. To God be the glory!\u201d<\/p>\n

But perhaps the greatest impact of the experience can\u2019t be measured in dollars.<\/p>\n

Taunton says coming so close to death has changed the way she wants to live.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife is very busy and it\u2019s easy to postpone plans,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to do that anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A mother\u2019s split-second decision to save a teenager\u2019s life has inspired an outpouring of support \u2014 including a $50,000 donation from Taylor Swift. Ashley Taunton, a 42-year-old certified nursing assistant, was driving on I-95 in Rhode Island during a torrential rainstorm in July when she saw a vehicle hydroplane off the road. \u201cWhen I see…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":462,"featured_media":22772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiring-messages"],"yoast_head":"\nTaylor Swift Donates $50K to Mom Seriously Injured Saving Teens From Highway Crash<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Taylor Swift gives $50,000 to a mom who nearly died saving a teen from a highway crash and says she saw God's hand through it all.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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