MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - A brave Samaritan was honored by the Miami-Dade County Commission after he stepped in to help a neighbor in danger.
The special ceremony recognized Altavious Powell in front of his loved ones, Wednesday, for the good deed.
“I was so honored to make a presentation to a young man who didn’t consider his life first. He considered the life of his neighbor, who was 93 years old, caught in a fire, and he did not hesitate to go in and save her life,” said Miami-Dade County Commissioner Barbara Jordan.
Powell risked his life in December to help 93-year-old Maria Cabral, who was alone when a fire broke out in her Miami Gardens home.
“The only thing on my mind was to get her out of there because I knew she was in there,” said Powell.
Lighting a candle had been part of Cabral’s normal routine but something went wrong.
“The first thing when I smelled the smoke, I ran towards the fire,” said Powell.
The flames grew into a ferocious fire, trapping Cabral inside her home.
“I’m just thankful that I was there at the time,” said Powell. “Like I tell a lot of people, timing is everything.”
Powell didn’t have a lot of time to get to Cabral, and he even had a cast on his arm at the time, so he had to get creative and act quickly.
“In spite of his own injury, he did not hesitate to break the window to go in to save a 93-year-old neighbor that he had grown up knowing all of his life,” said Jordan. “I can’t imagine anything more heroic than that.”
A house that had been a home to Cabral for decades was destroyed, but Powell’s bravery helped save the life of a neighbor he loves.
“If he hadn’t been there, we don’t know what the outcome would have been,” said Elizabeth Cabral, whose grandmother was rescued.
Cabral was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital for burns and smoke inhalation.
The 93-year-old is still recovering, but she is expected to be OK.
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