An adventurous young off-roading enthusiast in West Virginia was saved by social media recently when a teenager more than 800 miles away noticed he was in need of help.
Caden Cotnoir, 13, who lives in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, was watching 12-year-old Trent Jarrett riding a quad bike live via the TikTok app, when Caden witnessed Trent crash the four-wheeler right before his eyes, in the middle of the streaming broadcast.
As Caden watched the continuing live feed, he noticed that Trent was yelling out a phone number as he was trapped underneath the recreational bike.
Caden immediately called the number and was connected to Trent’s family, who were able to jump into action.
About 20 minutes later Trent was rescued, having thankfully suffered only minor cuts and bruises.
Caden is being praised for his quick thinking and act of kindness. His stepfather, Matt Currier, is a local police chief.
“He did what he was supposed to do and got the right people and it worked out,” Currier said of his stepson. “It was an Easter miracle.”
Caden followed Trent on TikTok, since both boys share interests in outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing and off-road four-wheeling, according to the Associated Press. Recalling the moment he jumped into action, Caden described what made him realize Trent was in trouble.
“All of a sudden his phone goes kind of blank, you can see a little bit of light and you can just hear him yelling for help,” he told local news station WMUR-TV.
“It was pretty, like, sad to hear, he’s scared that he’s not going to make it out,” he added.
The two teens had a chance to speak to each other directly – via Zoom – on Monday, and Trent thanked Caden for being “virtually there” to save him.
Trent told WMUR-TV, a local news station in New Hampshire, that the number Caden called was the only one he could remember at the scary moment following the crash.
“I was yelling out my grandparents’ house phone number,” Trent said. “I couldn’t hardly breathe – I’d just like to thank him for everything that he’s done.”