'Very Bright' 5-Year-Old Helps Save Father's Life After He Suffers Stroke While Driving
A "very bright" 5-year-old Washington boy is being hailed for his smarts by law enforcement officials in Oregon after he calmly helped them save his father who suffered a stroke along a busy highway on Sunday.
Thanks to 5-year-old Dax Paget's calm and detailed description of his surroundings, Oregon state troopers were able to locate the spot where his father, Richard Paget, 46, had pulled over as he suffered the stroke, according to an ABCNews.com report.
Dax initially called his mother for help, and she dialed the police and connected them to her son.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"I was talking to the child, he said he could not wake up the father. He was sleeping a lot," noted an officer in a recording from the Oregon State Police (OSP).
"The trooper who was on the phone with the boy said he was very calm and he was very helpful," said OSP spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings. "He answered all of the questions that the trooper asked and gave descriptive details to help them have a general idea of where they needed to go and look."
One officer was so proud of the boy he hoped his kids would turn out like Dax when he eventually becomes a father.
"I don't have kids, but when I do I hope they turn out like Dax," said OSP trooper Joseph Dezso. "He is a super brave, super intelligent little man. I really applaud him for what he did."
According to a statement released by the police, Dax and his father were travelling from Spokane, Wash., to Oregon City, Ore., when the boy's mother, Rachael Ballard, called 911 in Spokane County at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Dax's mother told dispatchers that her son called her and explained that he needed help because his father was having a medical emergency. Police used the signal from Paget's cell phone to try and track him, but it resulted in a 15-mile wide search area.
When officer Dezso called Paget's phone, however, they were able to narrow down the search are.
"Initially, I had talked to Mr. Paget, but his speech was very garbled, so Dax stepped in and took over," said Dezso. "He immediately started talking to me about where they were and what was going on. He started leading us in the right direction."
"Everything that he answered was spot on," Hastings said. "Where they were at, there were only a couple of buildings around them, and [Dax] described them in detail. That, along with the fact that the train was passing by, was very helpful for us to get there as quickly as we could."
