Seven-year-old Evan Raap is being hailed as a hero by police after he saved his grandpa’s life Saturday morning with a call to 9-1-1.
In a recording of the call released by police, the boy tells the operator he and his grandpa were driving to the bank, when he suddenly pulled off the road, started to shake violently and sweat, and then lost consciousness.
“I don’t know what to do,” the little boy says. “I’m really worried.”
But Chilliwack RCMP say the boy had wit enough to use his grandfather’s cell phone to call 9-1-1 and give the operator enough information to guide a police officer to his location.
“This little boy is truly a hero,” said RCMP Cpl. Tammy Hollingsworth.
When word broke of the young boy’s heroic effort, media descended on the family’s home.
“It was an interesting feeling,” said father Brian Raap about the experience. “Not sure if it’s sunk in quite yet. It’s pretty cool.”
The incident began at around 9:30 Saturday morning when the grandfather, George Epp, was driving toward Eagle Landing. Epp was able to pull to the side of the road, but the young boy could clearly tell something was wrong.
Using his grandfather’s iPhone he called 9-1-1 and was able to provide the dispatcher with a street location and description of the vehicle.
Normally shy and quite, Evan stayed on the phone and remained calm as police and ambulance rushed to the scene.
Evan’s mom Melissa said the family had informally talked about what to do in an emergency situation.
“We’ve talked about it before, and they’ve seen it on television,” she said.
She said her father is recovering in hospital and is grateful for the young boy’s actions.
“We’re a very proud of Evan, that he was able to jump into action and get grandpa the help he needed.”
For audio from the 9-1-1 call, click the image below: