Local Boy Scout called hero for saving sister, mom

It was almost 1 a.m. when Alex Reinbrecht dozed off in the passenger seat. The sugar high from the Mountain Dew he consumed had finally worn off.

But his slumber was fractured by his mother's yelling and slamming on the brakes. Moments later, the West Dundee family's 1999 Ford Explorer left the roadway and flipped over at least twice. It came to rest on its roof in the ditch.

Marcela Reinbrecht, who was driving her children to New York to visit relatives over Labor Day weekend, said there were no other cars on the road. She doesn't know how the crash happened on a stretch of the Indiana Toll Road near the Indiana-Ohio border.

In the chaos, Alex's sister, Tatiana, 15, was thrown from the vehicle. She had been slouching in the back seat, sleeping, with her arm outside the seat belt.

Their mother was knocked unconscious. The family's belongings were strewn across the highway; the family dog, Lily, was nowhere to be found.

After climbing out of the mangled SUV, Alex found Tatiana on the side of the road. She was losing consciousness and at risk of going into shock from severe leg, head and spinal injuries.

And that's where Alex's Boy Scout training kicked in.

Alex, 14, had earned certificates in first aid and CPR from the Algonquin Boy Scout Troop 151 about two months before the accident as a Star scout. He drew on those skills to assist his sister.

"Everything was going really, really fast, and my adrenaline was going," said Alex, who walked away with minor injuries. "I was crawling around the car yelling for Lily and my sister."

He took a pillow and blanket from the car and elevated his sister's leg to prevent her from going into shock from her injuries; she was bleeding profusely.

When she was ejected from the car, Tatiana figures, her flip-flop-clad foot was wedged underneath the driver's seat, causing a tear along the length of her foot from the big toe to her lower shin.

"I would have been dead if it wasn't for Alex," Tatiana said, her tone unwavering.

Alex then instructed passers-by to help his mother, who was briefly knocked unconscious and suffered broken bones in her face.

"I would never have known how to do any of these things," Alex said. "For anyone in the Boy Scouts, always take CPR. My mom forced me to do it, and it paid off."

The Boys Scouts of America will award Alex one of the organization's highest honors - the Medal of Heroism Award - at a Sunday dinner in Rockford.

Only 79 adult leaders and youth Scouts received the heroism award in 2009, compared to the 52,000 boys who achieved Eagle Scout status last year. There are 3.9 million Scouts and leaders across the country.

The award is given to Scouts and leaders who have saved or attempted to save a life where there was some personal risk involved.

Troop 151 Scout Master Joe LaMonica said he was not surprised to hear about Alex's actions.

"I was proud that he was able to react and handle the situation the way he did," said LaMonica, who has worked with Alex throughout his Scouting career. "We practice and go through scenarios so troops don't panic, but nothing truly prepares you for the real-life situation. ... It is how you react in the real-life situation that counts."

Tatiana was flown from the hospital in Angola, Ind., to a trauma center in Fort Wayne. From there she was transferred closer to home to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where she underwent three surgeries to repair the torn tendons and nerves in her left foot. In all, Tatiana suffered bleeding on the brain, a concussion, fractured skull, fractured spine, ACL and MCL tears in her right leg, as well as the tendon and nerve tears in her left foot.

Lily, the family dog, was found alive two days after the accident.

"I know I can trust him with my life," Tatiana said. "He has already saved it once."