Trio of students save elderly man’s life; one boy doesn’t tell his parents

A trio of middle-schoolers are being hailed as heroes, but some of the students didn’t initially tell their parents because they thought they’d be in trouble.

It’s the odd twist of an act of kindness that went viral, which is tied to a dangerous incident involving an 88-year-old man in Thurston County.

Harold Storelee was mowing his lawn Friday morning when he fell and broke his hip. According to the Thurston Regional Fire Authority, Storelee is believed to have fallen around 9:30 a.m. By the time anyone heard his cries for help, it was after 1 p.m.

“Had these boys not had this twist of fate,” said Captain Dyer, “this could have been a very different story. Harold many not be with us today.”

It turns out three Rochester Middle School students were walking by Storelee’s home when they heard his faint cries for help. Typically, Colby Dunkin and Hayden Lewis would have went to an afters-chool program at the Boys and Girls Club in Rochester. As luck would have it, they walked with their friend, Adam Dillon, to his house that day – deciding to double-back to the after-school program that’s less than half a mile from Adam’s home.

“At the end of the road we heard a man moaning,” said Adam. “We heard him saying ‘Can someone help me please I’ve fallen!’”

At first, some of the boys were afraid to get involved. Adam told KIRO 7 News that he wasn’t sure who the man was, or why he was calling for help from a couple of young boys. Hayden was the first to peak over the fence, noting he felt comfortable with his friends nearby – and knowing he was close to several public spaces within running distance.

“He sounds worried, like he’s in distress,” said Hayden. “I just asked, ‘Do you need me to call an ambulance?’”

Hayden didn’t want to get to close, but was able to tell the older man was stranded. It wasn’t until later that they would realize that the man had been lying on the ground more than four hours. Neighbors say if Storelee hadn’t been in the sunlight this story may have had a different ending.

“Those kids really saved his life,” said Cheryl Jones, the neighbor who snapped the photos that went viral, showing how local EMTs returned to the home to finish mowing Storelee’s lawn.

“It’s his baby,” said Jones, explaining that her neighbor has kept an immaculate yard for years. “It always has been, but since his wife died he’s simplified it a bit.”

He’s simplified because it’s been harder to get around. Storelee fell off a ladder a year ago, this time when he fell while mowing his lawn he did so out of sight. Jones told KIRO 7 News that she only noticed something was wrong when she saw a car that she didn’t recognize stop in front of the house.

She ran across the street to capture a license plate, thinking the driver may have been casing the house. Instead, he told her the boys had frantically flagged him down and gotten him to call 911.

While the story went national of the EMTs who rescued Storelee, the boys’ good deed went unnoticed. The Thurston Regional Fire Authority became aware and wanted to do something special for the three boys.

So far, the trio has kept pretty quiet about the situation.

“I don’t want the attention,” said Hayden. “It was just the right thing to do.”

In fact, most of their classmates at Rochester Middle School don’t know about how the Hayden, Colby and Adam saved a man’s life. Local firefighters and EMTs plan to change that when they honor them during a special assembly next week.

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