Ashley Taunton thought she was stopping on a rainy highway to help three teenagers she had never met.

She had no idea that within minutes, she would push one of them out of the path of an oncoming car, suffer devastating injuries herself and later discover that the teenager she saved was actually the son of a longtime friend.

More than a month later, Taunton, 42, is still recovering at Rhode Island Hospital after the July 18 crash on Interstate 95 South.

Her injuries were severe enough that she feared she might not survive.

Yet when people call her a hero, the Connecticut mother of three says the title still feels uncomfortable.

“I’m just a mom,” she told PEOPLE from her hospital bed, explaining that she saw someone in trouble and did what felt natural.

The extraordinary part came later, when her family learned exactly who that “someone” was.

She Saw a Crash Ahead and Knew She Had to Stop

Taunton was driving through Rhode Island with her youngest daughter when she noticed what appeared to be an accident ahead on the wet highway.

Because she had previously worked as a certified nursing assistant, Taunton says her instinct was immediate.

She wanted to help.

She stopped roughly 30 yards from the crash and told her daughter to remain behind and call her father.

Then Taunton made her way toward the damaged vehicle.

Inside and around it were three teenagers.

They had been traveling when their car hydroplaned on the rain-soaked interstate.

The teens appeared shaken and had some minor injuries, but Taunton initially believed they were relatively okay.

She began speaking with them and assessing the situation.

Then the danger changed instantly.

Another car lost control.

An Oncoming Vehicle Began Sliding Toward Them

According to the crash report Taunton shared with PEOPLE, the second vehicle lost control because of the wet and slippery road conditions.

It began heading directly toward the group.

There was almost no time to react.

The teenager closest to Taunton was the driver of the first vehicle, a 19-year-old named Vinny.

Taunton pushed him out of the way.

Then the oncoming vehicle struck her.

She later described the impact as feeling like “a big explosion.”

When she became aware of what had happened, she was lying on the ground and immediately knew she was badly hurt.

She could see that her ankle was severely injured.

When she tried to move, she could not breathe properly.

Her daughter ran to her and stayed beside her, holding her hand while they waited for emergency crews to arrive.

Taunton Thought She Might Not Survive

The wait for help felt endless.

Taunton said she realized she was likely bleeding internally.

She began to fear that she was going to die there on the highway.

Even after she was placed in the ambulance, that fear remained.

She prayed that she would survive.

Doctors later confirmed just how serious her injuries were.

Taunton suffered dissections of both internal carotid arteries, injuries to her liver and spleen, multiple broken ribs and a ruptured diaphragm.

She underwent surgeries and remained hospitalized more than a month after the crash.

Despite everything, she survived.

Taunton now says she is overwhelmed by how many things had to go right for that to happen.

She credits the people who responded to the accident, the medical teams caring for her and her faith for helping carry her through the ordeal.

Then Her Husband Told Her Something Unexpected About Vinny

At first, Taunton believed the teenager she had pushed to safety was a complete stranger.

That was not true.

She had met him before.

She simply had not seen him in about six years, which is why she did not recognize him beside the damaged car.

Vinny was the son of Jamie O’Rourke, a woman Taunton had been friends with for approximately 14 years.

The connection was discovered almost by accident.

O’Rourke saw Taunton’s husband, Joe, and their daughter at the hospital and asked why they were there.

When they told her Ashley had been struck by a car while helping teenagers on I-95, O’Rourke immediately realized what had happened.

According to Taunton, her friend “lost it.”

She suddenly understood that the woman who had pushed her son away from an oncoming vehicle was Ashley.

The friend she had known for years had saved her child’s life without even knowing whose child she was saving.

“She Saved My Son’s Life”

O’Rourke later spoke publicly about what Taunton had done.

She described her friend as courageous for placing herself in danger.

The detail adds an almost unbelievable second layer to a story that was already remarkable.

Taunton did not pull over because she recognized Vinny.

She did not know that helping those teenagers would affect someone she personally cared about.

She stopped because she saw a damaged vehicle and people who might need assistance.

When another car began sliding toward them, she reacted before she had time to consider the consequences.

Only afterward did the two families realize how closely connected they already were.

For Taunton, that discovery appears to have reinforced her belief that she was supposed to be there at that exact moment.

Recovery Could Take Up to a Year

Taunton’s ordeal did not end when she survived the initial impact.

Her recovery is expected to be long.

Doctors had not yet given her a firm date for leaving the hospital when she spoke to PEOPLE, and she said physical therapy will be an important part of what comes next.

Her medical team has estimated that full recovery could take as long as 12 months.

The community has rallied around Taunton and her family during that process.

Supporters have contributed through a GoFundMe campaign and a Meal Train, helping the family manage the practical challenges created by her hospitalization and rehabilitation.

For someone accustomed to being the person who steps in to help others, receiving that level of assistance has been its own adjustment.

But Taunton says she is deeply grateful.

The Crash Changed How She Thinks About Time

The experience has also changed the way Taunton thinks about everyday life.

Before the accident, she says it was easy to allow ordinary responsibilities to get in the way of seeing friends or making plans.

There was always another day.

Another weekend.

Another opportunity to have coffee or spend time with someone important.

After coming so close to losing her life, she no longer wants to assume that.

She told PEOPLE that she intends to stop postponing small moments with the people she loves.

The lesson is simple but hard-earned: people rarely know which ordinary day might suddenly become extraordinary.

She Still Does Not See Herself as a Hero

Taunton’s story contains all the elements of a dramatic rescue.

A rainy interstate.

A stranded vehicle.

An out-of-control car.

A split-second decision.

And a woman who pushed a teenager out of danger at enormous cost to herself.

But Taunton continues to resist the idea that she did something extraordinary.

In her mind, someone needed help.

She happened to be there.

What she could not have known was that the teenager she saved was not really a stranger at all.

He was the son of a friend she had known for 14 years.

Taunton stopped because she believed helping was simply what a person should do.

Only later did she discover just how personal that decision had been.

She may have seen three unknown teenagers beside a crashed car.

One of their mothers saw something very different.

She saw the friend who saved her son.