18-year-old recognized as a hero after saving mother and her 3 young children from burning car

We’d all like to think we’d run towards danger to help someone in need, but would you really?

It took only seconds for Justin Gavin, an 18-year-old from Waterbury, Connecticut, to decide he was going to run towards the danger. To him, there was no other option.

“Life is too short, so I just thought that if that was me in that situation, I would want somebody to help me, so I definitely did what I can do,” he said.

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The teen had reportedly just got off a bus when he saw an SUV drive by with flames underneath. The SUV, which lost its brakes, came to a stop in a nearby parking lot.

He rushed towards the vehicle, and opened the door, that’s when he realized there were three small children, ages 1, 4, and 9, in the back.

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Despite being scared and worried that the vehicle might blow up at any moment, he was able to rescue all four occupants.

September 9th 2020 – Chief Fernando Spagnolo thanks Justin Gavin (age 18) for helping to save a mother and her three children from a burning car.Great job Justin!

Posted by Waterbury Police Department on Wednesday, September 9, 2020

“I said (to the driver), ‘Don’t thank me,'” Gavin said. “It’s just something I did, because what’s the point of letting somebody lose their life?”

Gavin was recognized by the Waterbury Police for his actions. Without his quick-thinking, it’s possible the mother and her children could have been more seriously injured or even died.

Thank you Justin for risking injury and saving four strangers’ lives. You are a hero!

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