Family's safety after horrific crash is the important story

The story of Alex Reinbrecht, the 14-year-old West Dundee Boy Scout who helped save his sister and mother after a horrific car accident in Indiana, is inspiring - and one the family struggled to tell.

This was not a story we learned about when it happened because it took place near the Indiana-Ohio border. There were no local newspaper articles detailing the crash.

Thankfully, the family all survived the accident, which meant there were no death notifications.

This was also not the kind of story the Reinbrecht family wanted to tell, at least not right away. When I visited their home in West Dundee on a Monday afternoon, soon after Alex and his sister, Tatiana, arrived home from school, they were excited to talk.

But I could sense that while the physical scars were healing quicker than anyone could have imagined, the emotional and psychological scars still ran deep. The accident happened almost six months to the day ago, over Labor Day weekend last year.

Neither Tatiana or her mother, Marcela, remember much - if anything - from the accident. Marcela had also never heard her son tell the story of what he remembers.

As Alex sat at the kitchen table, recalling how he heard his mother scream then slam on the brakes, and then the car flipping and landing twice on the passenger door before resting on its roof, you could see the anguish in Marcela's face.

The realization that she could have lost one or both of her children was evident as her eyes swelled with tears. Knowing that her children were safe was far more important to Marcela than sharing news of the accident, or even celebrating Alex's actions.

The award he received on Sunday night may be a tangible reminder of his heroism, but in his family's eyes, that doesn't matter. He is their hero, whether other people know or not.

Also, as a follow-up to the story, I want people to know that Lily, the family's dog, made it home safe about a week after the accident. Lily was found beneath a highway underpass by a family from St. Charles.

Marcela Reinbrecht said she has no idea who the family is, but would like to somehow connect with the family that helped bring her family back together.

Family and friends helped bring Lily home, but in the shuffle of caring for a child in the hospital and another at home with relatives, Marcela said she misplaced the note with the family's name.

If someone out there knows who brought Lily back to the Reinbrechts, know that they are beyond grateful.

• Larissa Chinwah covers Carpentersville, East and West Dundee, Dundee Township and Hampshire. She can be reached at (847) 931-5722 or lchinwah@dailyherald.com.