Logan Simmons, the Chick-fil-A employee who dived out a drive-thru window to rescued a choking child, has a heartbreaking backstory.
Losing his father at just 8-years-old, the heroic youngster is now putting away the pennies to save for his first car. So, in a bid to help this hard-working kid on his way, children’s charity November Smiles has presented him with a wonderful financial gift.
“We know what you did, obviously. So, we were looking into doing something for you,” a member of the November Smiles team told Logan in a video posted on Twitter. “We found out that you lost your dad when you were young — so we realized we definitely have to do something for you.”
“We know that you’re trying to save up for a car — we have a donation toward your car fund to help that!” the representative declared, handing Logan a check.
“That’s awesome,” Logan said, clearly emotional at the sight of the generous gift.
“Keep being you,” the volunteer replied.
On its website, November Smiles declares that its core mission is to “help children and teenagers realize that even through the toughest times in life, they have something to truly smile about.”
The charity also set up a GoFundMe campaign to help raise the rest of the money required for Logan to purchase his dream vehicle. Almost $700 has been raised so far, with comments of support pouring in on the page.
“I donated because you inspired me,” one person wrote. “Keep inspiring. Good luck in all your future endeavors. May God Bless You.”
“After connecting with Logan and his mother, we learned that Logan currently does not have a car, and he relies on his mother and siblings to get him to work every day,” the GoFundMe page reads.
“The goal for this GoFundMe is to raise enough money for Logan to buy himself a decent car that he definitely deserves!”
How did the dramatic incident unfold?
Simmons noticed the 6-year-old getting having difficulty as he stood by the open drive-thru window at the restaurant location in Flowery Branch, Georgia.
Immediately, his innate instinct to help kicked in and the young man threw himself out the window.
“I’m still kind of shocked right now myself that all this has happened,” Simmons told WSB-TV 2.
“He’d been home for a couple of hours and he said nonchalantly, ‘I saved a kid’s life today,’ and I was like ‘What?’” mother Teri Simmons recalled.
Surveillance footage provided by the restaurant showed how the dramatic moments unfolded:
“I just jumped out the window and ran straight down to the car,” Simmons said. “I think it was the quickest option. It was right there and I saw the other car right there.”
When he got outside, Simmons quickly realized that the boy had somehow become entangled in his seatbelt and was losing conciousness.
“You could see he was turning red and losing pigmentation in his face,” he said.
The quick-thinking youngster pulled out his pocketknife and cut the boy free.
“I’m amazed he didn’t panic. As his mother, I would have panicked. I’d be running around going, ‘Oh my gosh! What do we do?’” Teri Simmons said.
Later that day, the boy’s mother phoned the restaurant to thank Simmons for his selfless act that saved her precious son’s life.
“I do feel like a hero,” Simmons added.
Yesterday, Chick-fil-A was once again named as America’s number one fast food restaurant, achieving 86 out of 100 points on a 23,000 strong consumer survey conducted by the American Customer Service Index.
Many big supporters of the restaurant talk of being continually impressed with Chick-Fil-A’s employees just like Simmons.
“I once saw a drive through cashier literally chase a car down in open traffic to correct someone’s order,” Jim Watkins noted on Twitter. “The person taking your order doesn’t act like they hate you and their job,” another person added.