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Photo by George Lauby
Tustin Main atop the SUV he steered, holding a stuffed monkey he received from paramedics.
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Six-year-old Tustin Main drove around town for nearly an hour Sunday evening, protecting his father and three-year-old brother. Tustin’s father Philip suffered a diabetic black out at the wheel of the family’s Chevy Avalanche. Tustin reached over and took the wheel. The three of them were headed home with supper they had picked up at Whiskey Creek restaurant. Phillip said he blacked out near Philip, as near as he remembers. “I remember going by the mall,” he said, “and after that I don’t remember anything until I woke up with the paramedics about an hour later.” Tustin steered as the car idled through town at about 10 miles an hour on North Platte’s busiest street. Somewhere north of town, Tustin decided, and managed, to turn around and drive back to North Platte. Worried passers-by had called 911 and were following the car with their flashers on. North Platte Police officer Roger Freeze found the car coming back into town across the North Platte River Bridge. “He was driving the best that he could,” Freeze said. “He was going pretty straight. He barely clipped the bridge coming into town; and he swerved towards the other lane of traffic, but I could tell he was trying to keep it straight.” After the SUV crossed the bridge, Freeze jumped out, ran alongside, reached in and put the car in park. He called an ambulance, which he said arrived within 15 minutes. Emergency Medical Technicians correctly determined that Phillip had a diabetic blackout and gave him fluids. Philip came to around 8:10 p.m. Philip, 33, who has watched his blood sugar for the past 23 years, said he had not suffered a black out in 16 years. He was ticketed for not having three-year-old Gage in a child safety seat. Tustin, a kindergartener, was scared but did a good job of handling the situation, Freeze said. Paramedics gave him a stuffed animal for being a good driver, with a heart that says “kiss me.”
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