Kept 'SUV'? That is how she ended up in the water. The rescue is the story. Kept 'kids'? Those were his own children, and they were never in danger.
This one really happened. Austin Collins was dropping his children at a school bus stop in St. Peters, Missouri, when an SUV rolled from a parking lot, down a hill and into a pond with 3-year-old Melody inside. He called 911 and jumped in, holding onto the SUV to stay afloat. Someone handed him a hammer, and he broke a window and pulled her out, cutting his hand on the glass. 'Without him, we would've lost her,' said her mother, Megan Kohlhaas. Melody is doing just fine. (KMOV, 10 November.)
Every word, accounted for
AtA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
aA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
MissouriWhere it happened.
busWhere he was standing.
stopGoes with bus.
aA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
strangerWho saved her. Not her family. Stays.
droppingWhy he was there, not what happened.
offA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
hisA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
kidsHis own kids. They were never in danger.
savedWhat happened. Stays.
aA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
3-year-oldWho he saved. Stays.
fromSaved her from the water. Stays.
aA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
pondWhere she nearly drowned. Stays.
afterA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
herA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
family'sWhose car it was.
SUVThe best wrong word here: how she got into the water, not what happened.
rolledHow the SUV got there.
intoA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
theA little word. It only holds the sentence together.
waterPond already says it.