How much are are you willing to put forth in order to save complete strangers? For 18 year old Justin Gavin, the answer to the question was everything.
When Gavin saw that a SUV had caught fire without the driver knowing it, he rushed to the car and saved an entire family.
In a Facebook post, officers who worked for the Waterbury Police Department in Connecticut said they received multiple reports about a mother who was driving a SUV although the vehicle caught on fire. Many drivers honked and got of out of their cars to notify the mother.
However, for some reason, the mother either did not realize what was going on or was unable to stop the car. It was at this moment that Gavin witnessed the situation and responded to it. The 18 year old teen said his body responded before really thinking about it.
The mother managed to stop the car by the time that Gavin reached the SUV on fire. After helping the mother out of her driver’s seat, the brave teen then helped the three young girls out of the vehicle. The girls have been reported to be 1, 4 and 9 years old, respectively.
Moment after he helped everyone out, the entire vehicle was swallowed by a large flame. The aftermath of the fire, and what may have happened had Gavin not intervened to help, is clearly visible in the image above.
Gavin said that anyone would have done the same in his situation. He said after seeing that a young girl was in the car, he just had to do something about the situation. He did recall getting scared once he reached the car because he was unsure if he could help everyone out.
Both the mother and the local police officers have lauded the teenager as a saver of lives and a local hero. The local police chief awarded Gavin a ‘challenge coin’ for the great bravery he showed, which Gavin accepted with the utmost gratitude.
Gavin said that he walked away with two new insights – that life can be short and that the police aren’t the evil people that some people portray them to be.
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Replaced!