Watch CBS News

Natomas Boy's 911 Call Draws Heroic Praise

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A Natomas boy is being hailed a hero by the police department for his courageous 911 call.

Just two weeks on the job and officially on her own, Caitlyn Hutchins received the distressing call.

"I hear them keep going and running through the garage, somebody," the young man told Hutchins.

"Are you somewhere safe in the house?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm in my mom and dad's room locked, locked their door, and I put my brothers in the closet," he told her.

The voice behind the frantic call was 12-year-old DJ Simmons Jr. He and his 6- and 9-year-old brothers were home alone.

"I was nervous about anybody trying to get into the house because I've never dealt with this before and I was just trying to make sure everybody was safe," DJ said.

His parents were at a doctor's appointment for brother No. 4, soon to be born.

"Terrifying. I started crying of course and started praying,"

Turns out it wasn't a burglar, but instead a freak accident. Someone crashed into their garage.

"Making sure his younger brothers were safe and that no one got to them. It's great thinking; not many kids think that far ahead," Hutchins said.

She added the call was perhaps just as scary on her end.

"I can't believe I got a call that serious and could've ended so badly so quickly," she said.

His parents can't be more proud.

"Him remembering everything and under that pressure, it was real good," said Dexter Simmons, DJ's dad.

It's the emergency you can always prepare for, but it's about how you react that matters.

"He should be so proud of himself. There's not anything I could think of that would give him a high enough praise, but wow," Hutchins said.

And after saving his brothers, DJ definitely has his priorities straight.

"It's been dramatic, but at the same time it was fun because, in the end, I got to see a game," DJ said.

He and his family were honored by the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center and got a suite to see the Harlem Globetrotters.

And it doesn't stop there; the police department was so impressed that they entered DJ's call into the 911 Heroes Award Contest.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.