A 10-year-old boy who was hospitalized following the tragic Philadelphia medical jet crash is being hailed as a hero for saving his sister’s life.
According to accounts from local Philadelphia affiliate FOX 29, Andre Howard III, who goes by “Trey” was on an after-school doughnut run with his dad and sister Friday in the area of the disaster that left a large, gaping crater on the city’s northeast side.
A Philadelphia father is calling his son a “superhero” for shielding his younger sister when a medevac jet crashed in a Philadelphia neighborhood, showering flames and debris on homes and the vehicle in which the family was riding. https://t.co/3cUCILi4E3
— WPSD Local 6 (@WPSDLocal6) February 4, 2025
Trey’s dad told local media outlets that as debris from the crash fell to the ground, the young boy shielded his sister.
His moves likely saved her life.
“Heard what we thought was a car crash, but then you see a fury of fire in the air, then a bunch of debris shooting everywhere,” Trey’s dad told local news outlets.
“My son, who’s named after me, Andre Howard, tells his little sister, ‘Get down.’ And he grabs her. I hear the glass shatter. I turn around, there’s a piece of metal sticking out of my son’s head from the plane,” he continued.
Trey underwent emergency brain surgery as a result of his injury, but reports say he was in stable condition at a children’s hospital.
On Monday, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said 24 people were injured as a result of the plane crash and four were still hospitalized. Two of them critical, two stable, she said.
Seven people died as a result of the crash; six Mexican nationals in the jet and a person in a car.
Newly-appointed U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was in Philadelphia on Monday, where he said a preliminary report on the crash should be available “within 30 days” and the jet’s black box was on its way to Washington, D.C.