A Florida man is being hailed as a hero this week after he used his broken arm to save the life of an elderly woman.
It all started when 93-year-old Maria Cabral lit a candle in a window in her home in Miami Gardens, which is something she often does as she enjoys candlelight. However, disaster struck this time, as the candle ended up setting fire to the walls. The flames spread in seconds, effectively trapping Maria.
Luckily for Maria, her 27-year-old neighbor Altavious Powell saw the smoke coming from her home and immediately leapt to action. He ran up to her home and tried to open one of her windows, but he was unsuccessful. Finally, he used the cast on his broken arm to shatter the window and get her out of the house.
“I said, ‘[Maria, Maria], where you at?’ And she said, ‘I’m right here,’” Altavious recalled. “She was right here like standing on the wall, so I just grabbed her with one arm. She looked up at me, she just said, ‘Thank you.’”
Both Maria and Altavious were rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center for smoke inhalation. Altavious was quickly released, while Maria is still recovering there at this time, but she is expected to make a full recovery as well.
Altavious has since been hailed as a hero, with Maria’s son saying, “She wouldn’t [have gotten] out of the house alive if that man didn’t come here.”
Despite all the praise he has received, Altavious does not see himself as a hero.
“I’m just glad I was able to do it and I got it over with, and everybody is safe now,” he said.
