Step aside Superman, Kayden Reid’s got this. The 6-year-old Mobile, Alabama boy saved his baby sister last week after she walked in front of a moving car even though that meant the car would hit him instead.
Kayden was with his mom, Kayla Giles, and his 2-year-old sister Kaycee at a family event on Tuesday when Kaycee walked outside and wandered into the road. Everything happened quickly, Giles told Fox & Friends on Monday. When the adults noticed Kaycee was in danger it was too late. Thankfully, Kayden, who was riding his hoverboard nearby, had already sprung into action.
“By the time everybody else saw [Kaycee] in the street, Kayden was right there … He ran right into the street to save her,” his mom said. “But in the process of getting her out of the way, he got hit by the car. … We’re just thankful that we have both kids [home and safe] today.”
They rushed Kayden to the hospital, but aside from needing some stitches, he’s OK. Doctors released him on Wednesday and he emerged from the hospital in a Superman costume.
Mobile firefighters visited him at home to congratulate him on a job well done. He even got a tour of a fire truck where he flexed for the cameras and laughed with the firefighters, despite what he’d been through.
Family members welcomed him home with a large banner that read “Kayden is our hero.” Ours too.
Firefighters Say Kayden Has ‘Heart of a Hero’
Kayden stayed cool under pressure. The firefighters who met with him last week said that’s what struck them about the young boy.
“He’s got the heart of a hero,” Mobile fire department spokesman Steven Millhouse told Fox News.
In his telling, Kayden didn’t think about the danger. He looked up and saw that his baby sister was in danger and knew she needed his help. There wasn’t much else to it, Kayden said.
“I had to go get her before she got ran over by the car,” he said. “But that’s when the car hit me.”
Millhouse said the boy’s tenacity is impressive. “But as a 6-year-old young man, for Kayden to be able to recognize what was happening and to react the way he did … He’s definitely a beacon for our future,” Millhouse said.
It’s unclear what happened to the driver who hit Kayden, but Kayden’s family doesn’t blame her.
“It wasn’t her fault,” his aunt Kendra Nettles said. “We’re just thankful that she stopped when she did to make sure that everything is OK with him and us.”
Kayden enjoyed his time in the spotlight. He flexed and smiled big for news cameras that stopped by to cover the story. As they left, he gave them a parting message. “Thank you, everyone, for watching me.”