A photograph of a D’lberville, Mississippi, firefighter comforting a young car crash victim has gone viral this week.
The picture, captured by the Sun Herald on Saturday, shows firefighter Casey Lessard lying on the ground and entertaining a little boy with his phone. The photo was reportedly taken after the 4-year-old and his family were involved in a car accident.
According to the NY Daily News, Lessard decided to show the boy a video of the animated film “Happy Feet” to relax the child until the ambulance arrived.
“He went from crying to instantly calm,” D'Ibervile Fire Captain Darren Peterson told the newspaper.
The boy, his four siblings and his mom were involved in the single vehicle car crash on Saturday. According to the Sun Herald, the SUV the family was in “left the road and flipped several times.” The cause of the crash, however, is still under investigation.
A fundraising page for the family says the mother and three of boy's siblings suffered serious injuries as a result of the accident.
Two of the kids had been in critical condition, but are now both stable though still sedated, the Sun Herald reported Tuesday. The mom, identified as Vannessa Darnell, and the other child are also said to be on the road to recovery.
The two other kids, including the boy in the photograph, reportedly suffered no injuries.
Netizens have praised Lessard this week for his compassionate gesture. The firefighter insists that he didn't do anything special.
“I just did my job,” Lessard told the Daily News. “I know everyone else in our department would've done the same thing.”
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