A Tonawanda teen’s quick actions saved his 15-year-old friend from traveling to California to meet with a sex offender.
Chris was heading to get his car fixed when he saw a young girl walking with bags in her hand. Once he realized it was his friend, he asked her if everything was OK and she told him she needed a ride to the bus stop because she was headed to LA to meet her uncle.
“It didn’t sit right with him,” said Michelle, mom. “What she was saying didn’t make sense.”
Chris tried taking his friend to the police to tell them what was going on, but his friend refused. He quickly decided to drop her off a block from the bus station to give him time to call the police.
“It’s a tough choice for a teenager to choose to betray their friend’s trust to save their life. But he made the right decision.”
Police didn’t hesistate to pull the bus over and Chris’ friend was safe from harm.
Michelle says she could not be more proud of her son.
“He’s always been a very giving kid. He is always helping people. A few months ago he helped an elderly lady in the Walmart parking lot who had a flat tire. He just offered to change it on his own free time. That’s just the way he is. He’s had a rough life. And he could be bitter and angry and on drugs with what he’s been through. But he has overcome all of it and still has a good compassionate heart. I’m a proud mama.”
The friend later told police she met the offender on a messenger app Kik, which is a group for runaway youth. The offender, who was convicted of sexual assault against a child younger than 14 in California, was arrested after an undercover officer was in touch to tell him the bus had arrived and an Uber was on its way. Had it not been for Michael, who knows what the outcome could have been.
This young man is truly a hero.
