DARTMOUTH, MA (WPRI/CNN) - For Jace Pina, Sunday was supposed to be a day of fun with his grandpa at the Dartmouth Mall. The two went to the mall’s arcade and played games.
But 7-year-old Jace knew something was wrong when his grandfather started acting strange.
“When we were leaving, he didn’t know what to do with his three dollars, so I said, ‘Put it in your pocket,’ and he kept asking me, ‘Why?’”Jace said of his grandfather.
Jace and his grandfather, who has diabetes, made it out to the car, but once there his grandfather lost consciousness in the passenger seat.
Dwayne Pina, Jace’s dad, said Jace’s instincts were working. He said Jace’s grandfather “continued to become more and more disengaged, and that’s when Jace figured that something was going wrong."
Jace said he felt nervous and sad, but he remained calm and sprung into action, running inside the mall to track down a security guard, who called 911. Dwayne Pina said Jace saved his grandfather’s - and his own father’s - life.
“If Jace wasn’t there, and he’s just a guy in the passenger seat, sleeping, who knows what happens from there?” Dwayne Pina said.
Now, Jace is being hailed as the hero of the day by the Dartmouth Police.
“We were super proud,” Jace’s dad said.
And Jace said he feels like a hero, too.
“I’m proud of myself,” he said.
Jace’s grandfather has since been released from the hospital and is doing much better.
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