Toddler Saves Mom, Brother's Lives

September 14, 2004

By April Zepeda




WHIDBEY ISLAND - He's got all of the traits of a super hero; he's fearless, fast, and a master of disguise.

And Lucas Helland, 3, has already saved the day.

It happened when his mom used a chair as a step stool.

"I stepped off and when I did, I stepped wrong and snapped my ankle," explained Carla Helland. "I threw my head backwards and hit my head and I passed out."

Lucas picked up his mother's cell phone, scrolled through her saved phone numbers and started making calls.

The toddler left messages for his older sister, brother, and father. He can't read but he knows what their names look like. Within minutes his dad called home and got help.

KOMO 4 News asked Lucas "were you scared?" "Yes," the little boy answered.

But the story doesn't end there. Just five days later as Lucas and his little brother Logan, 2, played next to their dad's truck an electrical problem sparked a fire.

When their mom spotted the smoke coming from the truck she ran to help -- only to find Lucas already making the rescue.

"He, at that time, was still pulling out his brother who was kind of screaming ''Leave me alone! Leave me alone!' But he pulled him away from the truck," said Carla.

There's hardly anything left of the truck. But there is not a single mark on either boy.

Like most heroes, Lucas takes no credit.

"It got burned up," he said.

But saving two family members in five days makes his mother proud.

"I think he was put on this earth for something, and maybe this was it, I don't know," said Carla with a laugh.

Lucas just started pre-school and he already has quite a story to tell when it comes time to talk about what he did over the summer.

Boy Drives Car After Father Shot To Death

September 16, 2004

By KOMO Staff & News Services


UNION GAP, WASH. - A man driving on U.S. 97 was shot and killed by gunfire coming from another car, leaving his 8-year-old son to steer the vehicle.

Ramon Sandoval Morfin, 35, of Yakima, died at the scene, the Yakima County sheriff's office said Thursday.

The man and his son were traveling north at Union Gap near Yakima Wednesday night when a second vehicle pulled alongside them and shots were fired, the sheriff's office said.

Morfin was hit by several shots and lost consciousness while still pressing on the accelerator.

His son steered the car for about one mile, negotiating several curves, an overpass and the on-ramp to I-82 before coming to a stop south of the Valley Mall Boulevard interchange, the sheriff's office said.

The boy was not hurt. He was checked at a local hospital before going home with relatives.

Deputies recovered two handguns and multiple shell casings from the scene.

An autopsy was scheduled for Friday.

The sheriff's office was investigating.

Deputies were seeking a boxy or square four-door vehicle, brown or rust, which might have some body damage to the right side of the vehicle.