On September 9th 2020, Justin Gavin was out strolling to his regional pharmacy store. In the meantime, the Waterbury Police Department had been flooded with calls regarding the small SUV on fire. There was a mother and her children caught up inside it.
Shortly, the 18-year-old saw the burning vehicle past him with a young girl in the car window. In spite of all that, the car wasn’t stopping, no matter how hard everyone around it tried.
In an interview, Gavin told that the drivers nearby the area, where the incident took place, were blowing horn continuously and some were stepping out of their cars to try and alert the woman that her car was on fire. Gavin told that he was repeatedly screaming to stop the car. It was on fire, he said.
Sadly, for some unknown reasons, the driver was not able to bring the car to rest. While others went on with shouting, Gavin acted without any delay. He ran after the car. He told that at that moment he felt that if by chance he was in that lady’s situation he would definitely want somebody to help him out. His intuition took possession.
Eventually, he managed to get to the car when it luckily stopped. As he unlocked the car door and assisted the mother out of the driver’s seat, the blaze grew more horrifying. He said that it kind of got frightening because he didn’t know whether he would be able to get everyone out in time.
But, he further added, fortunately, he did it. He was quick enough and pulled out the three children- aged one, four and nine, with the youngest in a car seat – to safety.
In a video uploaded to the Waterbury Police Department’s Facebook page, Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo appreciated Gavin’s brave act with a challenge coin. It was a modest gift by the chief for being a helpful citizen of society.
Spagnolo continued to say that he expects that whenever Gavin looks at this coin, it brings back the memories of this day and the good deed he did by saving the life of a family. He should consider this as the greatest moment of his life.
According to the police, the mother gave the recognition to Gavin for saving her family’s life. Being a teenager, it was a motivating incident that made him realize that life is short
