Kindergartner steers truck, dad and brother to safety
A little boy possibly saved the life of his father and little brother in Nebraska on Sunday. Tustin Mains, a 6 year old boy, was riding in the back seat of his father’s Chevy Avalanche, next to his three year old brother, when he saw his dad “fall asleep” at the wheel. The sharp thinking Kindergartner quickly got out of his seat, crawled up to the front and climbed into his dad’s lap, where he was able to see out the windshield and reach the steering wheel.
His dad, Phillip Mains, had not actually fallen asleep, but was unconscious due to low blood sugar. Thankfully, Phillip’s foot had slipped from the accelerator, but the truck continued to roll while idling at about 15 miles per hour, witnesses say. When he slumped over on the way home from a restaurant, his older son managed to handle the vehicle for several blocks before being rescued.
Passersby recognized that something was wrong, and alerted the police. Several other cars drove behind and in front of Tustin with their emergency flashers on until being rescued by North Platte police officer Roger Freeze. Freeze made contact with Tustin, parked his patrol car and chased the truck on foot. After about a block, he caught up with it. With the doors locked, he was unable to enter the vehicle. But before losing consciousness, Phillip had rolled down the window. Although the boy was startled when Freeze appeared, Freeze managed to reach in and put the car in park, bringing the Avalanche to a stop.
When Tustin was driving, he was able to maneuver through town, and even turned around when he didn’t recognize his surroundings. Amazingly, all three passengers, the officer, and the vehicle are all unharmed. But Tustin admits he was pretty scared by the whole ordeal. Police Chief Martin Gutschenritter praised the boy, saying, “That is also a very special young man. He was able to take quick action when his dad was incapacitated, and we are very proud of him, too.”
Chief Gutschenritter said the department will officially recognize the valiant effort that Officer Freeze made. “Investigator Freeze’s quick action possibly averted tragedy. I will be issuing him a departmental citation for his quick, professional action on this case. Phillip Mains also heaped praise on the officer. “To chase down a moving vehicle and get it stopped the way he did took a lot of nerve and it weren’t for him, things could have turned out much worse.”
As a mom, I would be so proud to call Tustin my own. I have some pretty terrific kids, but I don’t know how they would react in such a frightening situation. I can’t say I would offer my son driving lessons. But this story does remind me how important it is to teach my kids how to think and react in an emergency. It also reinforces my concern that my son know where we live–to be able to get himself home if something happened. I also need to remember to thank my friend who is a police officer–and teach my kids to respect the police. They really put themselves on the line for us all every day.
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