'I didn't think about anything': teenager runs after runaway car and avoids tragedy in SC; VIDEO

A 15-year-old teenager avoided a possible accident by running behind a runaway Fiat Toro pickup truck and pulling the vehicle's handbrake in Rodeio, in Alto Vale do Itajaí, in Santa Catarina.

Security cameras recorded the action (see the video above) on Wednesday (11), at around 1:58 pm, on Rua Nemo Paker.

In the images, it is possible to see Erick Gabriel Back standing in front of a friend's house when the pickup truck starts going down a steep street. He runs after the vehicle, manages to open the door, gets in and pulls the handbrake. The entire action lasts less than 30 seconds.

Erick Gabriel Back, 15 years old, avoided a possible accident in Rodeio (SC) — Photo: Reproduction

Driver forgot to apply the handbrake, says teenager

In an interview with g1, Erick said that the pickup belonged to the elderly couple Marli Pereira and Renato Pereira.

According to the teenager, Renato had gotten out of the vehicle to open the house gate, but forgot to apply the handbrake. As the pickup remained running and with no one behind the wheel, it began to descend the steep street alone.

Erick was in front of a friend's house, on an electric motorcycle, when he noticed the situation. Upon hearing a woman's screams, he looked in the direction of the vehicle, realized that it was descending out of control and ran to try to stop it.

"My first reaction was to just go after the car. I didn't think about anything, nothing came to mind. My reaction was just to get and go to the car", said the teenager.

Upon reaching the pickup, Erick managed to open the door, enter the vehicle and pull the handbrake. Despite having managed to avoid the accident, the teenager said he was quite nervous after the action.

"When I pulled the handbrake, it started to shake, shaking. I didn't know what to do," he reported.

'Soap opera scene'

Erick's attitude also surprised Eliane Travaglia, mother of one of the teenager's friends. She witnessed the scene and praised the speed with which the young man acted.

Eliane said she saw the vehicle descending out of control and highlighted the boy's courage. "This boy deserves a trophy. This boy is a hero," he said.

For her, the teenager's intervention prevented the vehicle from causing an accident.

"If Erick hadn't seen it and run after it, that car would have caused damage down there. It could have hit another car or a wall, or even hit a person," he said.

Eliane also said that she was proud of the young man's attitude. "No, that was a scene from a soap opera. I swear to God, I was very proud," she added.

Erick stated that he did not know the elderly couple and that he decided to act on impulse when he realized the danger.