Tomorrow, January 25th, 14-year-old Boy Scout Hayden Fitzpatrick will be awarded the rare and prestigious Honor Medal for saving his mother and 4-year-old brother's life.
The heroic event happened on a cold, slippery March afternoon.
On March 2nd, 2017, Hayden's mom, Patricia Fitzpatrick, got out of her car in the driveway thinking the car was in park. She then heard her 4-year-old son scream "the car is moving!"
Hayden, who was at the end of the driveway taking trash to the bin, saw his mom get hit by the car's door open, as it rolled down the driveway. While on the ground, Patricia's foot was run over by the moving car, preventing her from getting up to stop it from ongoing traffic.
Hayden quickly ran to car, jumped into the driver's seat and stopped the moving car. The 14-year-old attributed his fast thinking to the skills learned in Scouting.
“Without Hayden’s heroic actions, there is no doubt in my mind that the situation would have ended much worse. Thanks to his Scouting background and quick thinking, he was able to save the lives of his mother and younger brother, an extraordinary feat,” said Russell Etzenhouser CEO of the Greater Niagara Frontier Council, Boy Scouts of America.
Hayden will be awarded the honor medal at the Boy Scouts Council Headquarters in Buffalo.
The medal is for Scouts “who have demonstrated unusual heroism and skill or resourcefulness in saving or attempting to save life at considerable risk to self”.
