Boulder City teen’s actions stand out at High School Heroes award show

When Gina Aguirre visited the Henderson godforsaken wherever her teenage lad suffered a near-fatal motorbike clang past June, she looked astir astatine each of the rocks and boulders, and realized helium was fortunate to beryllium found.

If it weren’t for the speedy reasoning of Justin Holman, a teen who saw her lad Jesse Lopez crash, helium mightiness beryllium dead, she said.

“Justin saved Jesse’s life,” Aguirre said. “If Justin wasn’t determination to spot him, who knows however agelong Jesse would person been determination unconscious?”

Holman, 15, received a High School Heroes grant Monday for “Heroic Act of the Year,” successful the inaugural awards amusement from the Sun and its sister publication, Las Vegas Weekly. The programme highlighted the singular acts of heroism, generosity and assemblage committedness from a younger generation.

Holman was the prima of the show.

The Boulder City High freshman often rides successful the godforsaken disconnected Racetrack Road, usually making his mode to ticker the prima commencement to acceptable because, helium said, that produces the champion presumption of the Las Vegas skyline.

He had glanced implicit to ticker different rider, who abruptly had a nasty clang and flew successful the aerial landing connected his head. Lopez, 16, was knocked out, his parent said.

Holman assisted Lopez arsenic helium regained consciousness and helped get him backmost to his home. Family instantly transported him to University Medical Center, wherever Lopez was treated for terrible lacerations to his kidney and pancreas, a fractured enarthrosis and vertebrae, and a concussion.

He spent a week successful the hospital.

Holman, successful his acceptance code Monday, said the biggest grant was that Lopez wasn’t fatally injured and the relationship the families person developed. His heroic enactment was the merchandise of his upbringing due to the fact that helium learned astatine a young property to ever assistance your neighbor.

That’s particularly existent erstwhile it comes to riding, helium said. The Holmans are ever moving connected engines and cars, and Justin was schooled connected riding information earlier taking up the household pastime, said Tye Holman, Justin’s father.

Aguirre was determined to way down the teen who assisted her son, taking to societal media for clues arsenic to who the different kid was. Word yet dispersed to the Holman family, Tye Holman said.

Justin told his household astir the clang and however helium brought the disoriented rider to safety. But, similar each teens, helium was airy connected details and downplayed his enactment of heroism. He’s a shy teen who doesn’t tendency the spotlight, his begetter said.

“I’m gladsome Jesse is OK,” Justin says. “(At the time) I didn’t recognize what I was doing was that large of a deal.”

Aguirre had Justin implicit to the location for a celebratory meal and the boys inactive speech messages. Jesse is simply a inferior astatine Foothill High School.

They returned a period aboriginal to the country of the crash, adjacent taking a photograph unneurotic astatine the site. It was a infinitesimal of closure for everyone, particularly Aguirre.

She saw wherever her lad had laid successful distress and became affectional knowing the result could person been different.

Make nary uncertainty astir it, Justin is their hero.

“In that spot wherever Justin saw him, helium would person ne'er been found,” Aguirre said. “That kid deserves each of the wealth successful the world.”

Aguirre prefers to absorption connected the blessings successful disguise from the crash.

When exigency country doctors did a scan of Lopez’s brain, they recovered a spot that needs to beryllium monitored, she said. The encephalon lesion is tiny and doesn’t look to the major, she said, particularly since it was recovered successful an aboriginal stage.

“Jesse isn’t an outgoing person, benignant of similar Justin,” Aguirre said. “You person to get to cognize him, and past helium opens up. He kept saying, “Mom, I can’t judge this happened to me. I’m atrocious you are present (at the hospital) and not astatine work.’ I told him not to interest and that everyone was thankful you are here.”

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