7-Year-Old Boy Hailed a Hero After He Rode Bike on Busy Highway to Save His Father’s Life

A 7-year-old boy from South Carolina has been hailed a hero for what he did to save his father after he collapsed at home.

Cameron was really worried after his diabetic father fell to the floor of the house. He tried calling 911, but he did not know the passcode to his father’s locked mobile phone. He then tried seeking help from his neighbors, but neither of them were home.

So as a last resort he decided to get on his bike and ride five miles on a busy highway to his grandmother’s house, according to a video posted on social media by Greenville County Schools on Feb. 10.

This was when Keller Sutherland, a first-grade teacher at Ellen Woodside Elementary School, noticed him riding down U.S. 25 when she was driving home from work.

“I told my husband there’s a child on the road, on his bike, not sure what’s going on, but I felt like I needed to turn around and see what’s going on,” Sutherland, 25, said in the video.

When she pulled up behind the 7-year-old, she realized that the child was her former student.

“I immediately pulled up and rolled down the window and just asked him, ‘Cameron what are you doing,'” she said. “Honey, you’re in the road. There’s heavy traffic. Where are you going?”

Sutherland said Cameron was not able to tell her much at the time except that he was going to his grandmother’s, but she knew something was not right and decided to question him further.

“So I said, ‘Cameron does dad know you left the house?’ he said no. So that was my second red flag that something’s going on,” she recalled.

Cameron eventually told the concerned teacher that his father had collapsed at home, and Sutherland quickly called 911. First responders found the boy’s father barely conscious on the bathroom floor and treated him on the scene.

She said Cameron was “calm and brave” during the whole incident, but she was glad that he was able to have a familiar face around him during such a critical moment. She said, “he felt helpless and the only way he could get help was to [ride] five miles to grandma’s house.”

“When I see myself as a teacher it just goes far beyond the classroom. Like I truly care for these kids, just to see that on a day when I wasn’t making an impact and God just intervened and placed me where I needed to be in that moment for Cameron,” Sutherland said.

As a result of the incident, the school’s principal, Shawn McCain, said he made sure to teach his students how to make an emergency call on different types of cell phones.

Many parents have praised the teacher and Cameron for their bravery.

“I’m very thankful for Keller Hayes Sutherland going above and beyond, and setting an example for her students, as well as adults. I’m also very proud of Cameron for his quick thinking and bravery!” one social media user wrote.

“I’m so happy to know there are teachers that care and pay attention to the students like this at our son’s school,” another said.

In a recent social media post, Sutherland said Cameron’s father had recovered from the incident.

“A lot of you have asked how his dad is doing so I wanted to let you know he is doing great thanks to his courageous son for saving his life!” she wrote on Feb. 11.