If it weren’t for the sharp eyes of one very alert snowplow driver, a 5-year-old boy from West Bend, Wisconsin, might not have made it home safely that morning.
Maddox Pierce woke up in the middle of the night, disoriented and scared, convinced he was alone in the house. His mom, Brittany Weissenburger, was at work, and Maddox didn’t realize that his 14-year-old aunt was there babysitting him. In his fear, he made a decision that could have had tragic consequences.
Bundled only in his pajamas, without a coat, hat, mittens, or shoes, Maddox quietly slipped out of his warm home and started walking down the lonely backroad toward his grandpa’s house. It was around 4 a.m., and the temperature had dropped to a biting 5 degrees Fahrenheit. As he stepped into the frigid night, his tiny body began to shiver uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, snowplow driver David Gehrke had just begun his shift. As he drove along the dark, icy roads, he noticed something unusual. “As I passed Kilbourn Ave, I seen something on the sidewalk,” David wrote on Facebook. “At first, I thought it was a deer or maybe a large dog. Then I realized—it was a child, in his pajamas, no jacket, no hat. He watched me as I drove by.”
David’s instincts kicked in immediately. “What is he doing out here?” he thought. He quickly turned his truck around, took off his own jacket, wrapped it around Maddox, and placed him safely inside the heated truck cab. While waiting for help, he called police dispatch and kept the boy warm, comforting him until the authorities arrived.
When police got there, Maddox was brought home safely, and Brittany was notified. While the news terrified her, Brittany is incredibly grateful to David for noticing her son in time. “I’ve been a mess since everything happened,” she admitted. “He’s never, ever done anything like that before. I’m so thankful. What are the odds that he came outside right at that exact moment?”
David, too, was deeply moved by the rescue. “I’m so glad I found this child. He could have frozen to death. PD thanked me for what I did. Today will be a day I will never, ever forget,” he said.
The police later confirmed there was no criminal wrongdoing in the incident, and Brittany is taking extra steps to make sure Maddox never wanders out unsafely again.
Both the West Bend Police Department and the Department of Public Works have hailed David as a hero. He received a certificate of appreciation, but for him, the real reward is knowing Maddox is safe and warm, thanks to his quick actions on a freezing winter morning.
