What would you do when you see a burning car?
Our instincts will always tell us to call for help, right? But what if help doesn’t arrive right away and there are people’s lives on the line?
We can’t always be heroes, but we should lend a hand when the time calls for it.
We’ll never know what our random acts of kindness and bravery could do to save other people’s lives. That is why we should always recognize those who get out of their way to help.
In Waterbury, Justin Gavin was hailed a hero despite his young age.
Justin was walking along West Main Street on his way to Walgreens when he saw an SUV in flames. He immediately ran into the scene to try and help whoever was trapped inside the car.
He went to the driver’s side and saw a woman, so he helped her out.
It was then when he realized that she was with three other children. He dragged the woman out of the car to safety. Then, he went back to the burning car to save the children.
In an interview, Justin said that he was nervous but never thought twice about his actions.
“Life is too short, so I just thought, I just thought that if it were me in that situation, I want somebody to help me, so I definitely did what I can do. I was scared because I didn’t know whether the car was gonna blow up at that instant,” Gavin told CBS New York.
His heroic act didn’t go unnoticed.
Waterbury Police Department Chief Fernando Spagnolo praised Justin’s act through a video message posted on their Facebook page. He said that the mother credited his bravery for their lives – something that we all agree.
Chief Spagnolo also presented Justin a “challenge coin.”
The police department gives out this coin to honor and recognize people’s acts of bravery. The police chief presented this coin, saying that he gave this to Justin as a token of his appreciation for being a great member of their community.
Aside from this, Justin was also invited to The Drew Barrymore Show.
The famous actress’ show has a segment that features random acts of kindness and heroism. Aside from listening to Justin’s story, Drew Barrymore also had one great surprise for Justin.
They found out how Justin was a huge Carmelo Anthony fan, so they gave him a surprise package that day.
Justin had a special video greeting from Carmelo himself. The NBA Superstar praised the young man and even told him that he inspired him and is honored to have a great fan like Justin. He also received some Brooklyn Nets merch and Jordan Melo shoes, plus season passes of the Nets’ games.
When asked what he wanted people to learn from this, Justin gave a heartfelt reply:
“My parents always tell me: don’t judge the book by its cover. And that (judging) is what people used to do to me. There’s a whole lot of good in people, and this is true.”
We agree with you on that, Justin, by showing us this brave example.
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