“Daddy, did I save my sister?”
A 10-year-old boy who was injured in the Philadelphia plane crash has been hailed a ‘hero’ after protecting his sister.
Seven people died in the crash and at least 24 were injured after a medical transport jet crashed into a Northeast Philadelphia neighbourhood.
Trey Howard, aged 10, survived the crash but suffered an injury from flying debris that required emergency brain surgery.
His father, Andre Howard Jr, opened up to ABC7 about his family’s experience.
He was picking up donuts alongside his three kids at the time of the crash.
“Felt like it was a movie, like a horror movie,” he said.
“Sounded like a missile was firing bullets, metal at my car, everyone else’s car,” Andre said. “You see a car on fire, a man walking on fire. It was just crazy.”
He said that he reversed his car while Trey protected his little sister by covering her.
“I turn around and he has metal outside of his head,” Andre recalled, saying that he used his socks and a shirt to try and prevent the bleeding.
After being rushed to hospital, Andre was told there was a ‘strong chance’ Trey would not survive.
Thankfully, Trey pulled through and is now awake and talking.
“They did an A+ job on my son. Praise God, they did a great job,” he said.
Trey’s first words upon waking were in reference to the Super Bowl, as he is a die-hard Eagles fan.
“He asked me, ‘Daddy, what’s today?’ I was like, ‘Monday.’ ‘OK, wait. We didn’t play yesterday did we?’ ‘No, you didn’t miss the Super Bowl,'” he said.
Trey also asked his father about his little sister, leaving his father crying when he asked: “Daddy, did I save my sister?”
“‘You told us to get down. I was just trying to help my sister.. next thing I know, I thought I died,'” Andre said Trey recalled.
“As a dad, its bittersweet… I’m glad he listened but that’s my job, not his job, to protect his sister,” Andre added.
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One of Trey’s favourite NBA players, Tyrese Maxey of the 76ers, visited him in hospital.
“He says thank you to everybody. He cries, ‘Daddy, I’m a celebrity.’ ‘No, you’re bigger than a celebrity. You’re a superhero,'” Andre said he told his son.
Trey is continuing to recover at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The family have created a GoFundMe to help cover any costs needed for his recovery.
