Three motorists say they would likely be dead if not for the help of a heroic teenager along Route 22 in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
On Saturday, December 5th, George Luis Pena and his two brothers were driving to work on Route 22 near the Route 309 exit in South Whitehall Township when they saw a pair of strange lights pointing towards them. Pena slowed down and soon saw 16-year-old Ryan Carbone waving his cell-phone in flashlight mode, warning them of a disabled car up ahead in the darkness.
Pena says that, because of Carbone, he was able to slow down and avoid the stalled car without incident, but the semi truck behind him was not so lucky.
Soon after Pena passed the vehicle safely, a tractor trailer approached the stopped car but was unable to stop and careened into it, striking and killing the young Carbone.
Without Carbone’s help, Pena and his brothers say they might not be here today.
“If he weren’t there, we would have been part of that accident as well,” George Pena said.
“It doesn’t leave my mind. He was just a kid.” Xavier Pena said. “If it wasn’t for Ryan being right next to his car with a flashlight we wouldn’t have seen it… We would have crashed and the truck would have rear-ended us.”
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“I’ve never experienced something like this. I’m grateful for (Ryan) being there. I hope you can reach out to the family and let them know in our eyes their son died a hero,” George added.
Although the Carbone family declined to be interviewed, they did accept the praise of their son, and thanked the Penas for the acknowledgement.
“Please accept our most profound gratitude for the article about our son, Ryan,” wrote Jack and Terri Carbone in an email to lehighvalleylive.com. “… This is just the blessing we needed. Please share our thanks with the Pena family.”
A GoFundMe has been created to help the Carbone family with expenses. The fundraiser has already exceeded its goal of $30,000, but if you would like to contribute, please click here.