Young Man Comes to the Rescue But Family Loses Car

On Tuesday, July 26th, 2022, a torrent of rainfall descended across the STL metro area, eclipsing a 107-year-old record by more than three inches. Families across the region were awakened by blaring alarms, frightened children, restless animals, and rising waters.

Fifteen-year-old John Trotter and his mother, Jennifer Thorpe, are of one of those families. On Tuesday, John and his mother were in their 2nd-floor apartment of a four-family flat on Cabanne Avenue in University City around 6 am when the new family pup started whining and pacing. Soon after, John heard one of his neighbors screaming. The woman’s five-year-old boy was trapped in a basement bedroom with rising water, and the basement door couldn’t be budged. John sprang into action, grabbing the heaviest thing he could think of, his mother’s cast-iron skillet, a gift from a friend, and ran across the street. Once above the bedroom where the little one was trapped, John proceeded to pound the skillet into the floorboards, eventually breaking through enough to see the little boy. The force of John's blows broke the handle off the cast iron pan, and by then, a hammer and crowbar had been found. As he worked to enlarge the hole, John could see the boy going underwater repeatedly in the basement, which had over five feet of water in it then.

Fortunately, John didn't need to jump down into the hole he created because members of the University City Fire Department arrived as he was preparing to drop down, took over the rescue efforts, and were able to pull the boy to safety. While John worked to free the child, Mother Nature continued to ravage his neighborhood. The floodwaters were high enough on Cabanne Avenue to relocate the 2007 Toyota Camry that John’s mother had intended to pass along to John for his upcoming 16th birthday; she has since received confirmation that the car is totaled, leaving the family without a vehicle. So instead of planning birthday celebrations, I learned that Ms. Trotter is now figuring out how she will get to her teaching job next week. Ms. Trotter is a Special Education teacher at Mullanphy-Botanical Garden Elementary School in St. Louis.

I learned that when we first spoke on the phone. After reading about John, I felt moved to some action, so I reached out to him and his mother. We spoke on the phone yesterday, and I met her and John today on my lunch break. I met a shy, humble young man and an exceedingly proud mother. I also met heroes. A selfless teen that sprung into action, a single mother, a Special Education teacher... These are my heroes. They are our heroes.

I want to help them but need your help. John and his mother must find a new place to live; I saw the orange condemnation sign on the front door of their building this afternoon. They also need a vehicle. Ms. Trotter needs reliable transportation to serve her students and her family. They haven't asked for anything, but they deserve so much. Funds raised will go to securing shelter, a vehicle, and other living expenses as determined by Ms. Trotter. Please consider a donation of any amount and SHARE!! Thank you. Much love.

Here is a link to the Weather Channel story John and his mother were featured on: The Weather Channel 8/1/22