Quick action by Anderson teenager saves woman’s life in Anderson River Park

ANDERSON, California — Four Anderson Union High School freshmen were spending time at Anderson River Park on Saturday, August 17, when they were in the right place at the right time to help save a woman’s life.

Riley Gillion, Chase Peets, Brian Aldridge and Dante Crandall say they were just enjoying their day fishing when they heard what they thought were gunshots and immediately started fishing.

“It was like a loud noise and Riley said something like, ‘Hey, we should check it out,’ like it was a joke,” says Chase Peets.

Three of the boys went to investigate the noise coming from down the path while the fourth stayed with his things. The boys quickly made a gruesome discovery.

“We were walking down the path and the woman was lying on the ground,” explains Brian Aldridge. “She was coughing up blood and there was a log on top of her.”

The woman, identified by friends and family as Ashlee Robinson, was biking with her two young children when a large tree branch fell on her, crushing her underneath.

“There were something like two little kids running towards us and talking about their mother,” says Peets. “And then we see them lying on the ground and moving a little bit.”

They grabbed Dante, who had stayed behind, and worked together to remove the branch, which was about as thick as they were, from Robinson. o Meanwhile, Riley called 911 and helped keep her children under control. However, when they heard emergency responders arrive, Ashlee’s children ran and tried to help.

“So we started following them,” says Dante Crandall. “And the cops went to the other side, across the playground, so we had to lead them to where it was.”

While Chase and Dante tracked down the children and Riley called the police, Brian was left alone with Ashlee.

“I was kind of scared,” he says. “That’s true. I’ve never experienced anything like that before, so I didn’t know what to do.”

A week later, the four and their families are proud of what they have done.

“Yeah, I feel good. After that day I thought, damn, I just did that.”

According to Facebook posts from Ashlee’s friends and family, she is still recovering after multiple surgeries. Her friends collected donations for Robinson and her family outside Becca’s Cafe on Sunday. Friends and close relatives of the Robinsons are hosting a spaghetti dinner at Becca’s Cafe on Saturday, September 8, from 4-7 p.m.