11-Year-Old Girl Hailed as Hero After Calling 911 During Home Invasion

thinkstock_122216_911

iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) —  An 11-year-old girl in Florida called 911 from her bedroom closet when three suspects burglarized her family’s home, taking an estimated $13,000 worth of items, including Christmas presents, according to police.

Ashley Bermudez, of Meadow Woods, Florida, retreated to a closet in her upstairs bedroom after watching an unknown vehicle pull into the driveway of her home.

 “I was trying to be very quiet while in the closet so that they can’t hear me,” Ashley told ABC News.

Ashley can be heard on the 911 call pleading with the dispatcher to send help.

“Hello, please, I need help. I need help. I need help,” Ashley told the dispatcher. “They’re breaking into my house, please come really quick.”

The suspects later entered the bedroom where Ashley was hiding and knocked down a door, according to police.

“Oh no, please, please, I won’t say anything, I promise you,” Ashley can be heard saying on the 911 call.

Authorities say the suspects fled the home after seeing Ashley. They later crashed their getaway car into a flatbed truck a few miles from Ashley’s home and were apprehended, according to police.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said in a Facebook post Wednesday they were able to arrest the suspects — identified by police as an 18-year-old male and two juveniles, ages 16 and 14 — due to Ashley’s “incredibly accurate descriptions.”

“She followed all the instructions,” the 911 dispatcher, Michele Fernandez, told ABC News. “She did a great job. Being 11 years old, she did a better job than any adult out there.”

Fernandez met Ashley for the first time Wednesday night. The two gave each other a hug.

“She was kind of a lifesaver for me,” Ashley said of Fernandez. “I want to thank her because what she did is really, really, really important to me.”

Orange County Sheriff’s Department officials said they plan to honor Ashley for her bravery.

Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.