An 8-year-old boy is being heralded a hero after his quick thinking saved himself and his sister from a perilous situation. Chance and his sister, Skylar, were almost kidnapped from an emergency room parking lot in Middletown, Ohio, as an assailant hopped in the front seat and attempted to take off with the kids still inside their grandmother's car. Luckily, Chance managed to grab his sister and pull them out of the moving vehicle, and police are praising the boy for his brave act.
The incident happened in a matter of seconds, as the kids' grandmother got out of her car to help a friend into the emergency room.
As explained in a statement written on the Middletown Division of Police Facebook page, 69-year-old Nita Coburn had been driving a friend to Atrium Medical Center on Thursday with her two grandchildren, Chance Blue, 8, and 10-year-old Skylar Weaver, in the backseat. The grandmother had pulled up close to the emergency room door to help her friend out of the car and into the building, but according to police, only 10 seconds after she left the front seat a stranger, Dalvir Singh, took her place and attempted to drive off with the kids still inside.
It was only by Chance's quick thinking that the two kids were able to tumble out of the car to safety.
As the two siblings were sitting there, Chance opened the back door to try to make their escape and Skylar tried to jump out the back rear door. But the kidnapper grabbed Skylar's hoodie, trying to keep her inside the vehicle.Â
"As she tried to get away, her little brother grabbed hold of her and pulled her away from the kidnapper and they both tumbled out of the vehicle as it was moving," the police statement reads. Video of the incredible save was captured by surveillance cameras and shows Chance and Skylar as they tumble to the ground.
"We both started screaming and then my grandma went out and grabbed ahold of the car and he just kept opening and shutting the door trying to get her off," Chance told Fox 19.
As for their grandmother, she saw her grandkids being driven away in her car and immediately tried to run after the vehicle. She didn't see the kids as they made their escape; instead, she ran up to the driver's side door and opened it to try to regain control. Singh shut the door again and locked it this time, but Coburn held fast to the door handle and was dragged "until it accelerated at a high rate of speed and she was forced to let go."
âI wouldnât let go of the door handle and he drug me a ways,â the grandmother later told WKRC. âI ate blacktop. I went down very roughly. I bounced.â
Chance then ran inside to report the carjacking. Middletown Police Officers Connor Kirby and P.R. Engleka also noticed the vehicle and stopped Singh before he could get away. The 24-year-old man, who is allegedly addicted to heroin, was arrested and charged with two counts of kidnapping, felonious assault for dragging Coburn, and grand theft.
Police are calling Chance a hero and are praising him for saving both his life and his sister's.
The Middletown Division of Police shared that it will recognize Chance for his heroic save at some point in the future, but for now Police Chief Rodney Muterspaw has nothing but praise for the quick-thinking little boy.
"This little guy is a hero. No question," Muterspaw said. "He pulled his sister out of the car with no concern for his own safety. That is incredible at his age and outstanding work by Officers Kirby and Engleka to find the suspect and take him down without incident. So proud of their work."
The kids only sustained minor injuries from their fall and spoke out about how thankful they are to their grandmother who put herself in harm's way to save them.
âShe would probably die for us,â Chance said. âShe loves us.â
