Posted by Sudbury Northern Life Reporter Bill Bradley 

A Val Caron youth and his dad were recognized by the Governor General of Canada with bravery certificates at a ceremony at Mayor John Rodriguez's office at Tom Davies Square Thursday.

Ben Larochelle, now 19, was only 15 in August 2005 when he was faced with an emergency. He and his dad, Alain, had spent time in Niagara Falls and were returning to an army cadet camp in Barrie when a car zoomed by on the QEW.

The car lost control and flipped over on its roof. While two occupants escaped, one man was still trapped. His arm was stuck in the sunroof.

Ben jumped out of the van he was in and ran toward the scene. He joined two motorcyclists who had stopped. Together the three attempted to lift the vehicle as flames began. The man screamed for them to cut off his arm.

Ben realized he needed to prop up the wreckage. He scaled a high fence to get a log, throwing it over to his dad and the others. With the log, the four rescuers were able to raise the vehicle high enough to get the man out. Just then flames had engulfed the car.

"We literally had only seconds to get him out of there. If the car had exploded while we were beside it, we could have all died," said Ben.

Ben attributed his bravery entirely to his training. From the age of 12, he had been an army cadet with the 2912 Sudbury Irish Royal Canadian Army Cadets.

"I think before my training if this had happened I might have thought I should do this or I should do that. But when it happened I went and did what I had to do. No thoughts went through my head. It could have been dangerous. I could have been hurt. All I could think was get him out."

When paramedics and firefighters arrived, the father and son left the scene, calling the police later. When Ben returned to cadet camp, he was recognized by his superiors for bravery.

His mother, Joyce, said it was appropriate that her son's bravery be recognized.

"Too often we hear when youth get into trouble. We need to hear more stories like this where youth, like my son, rise to the occasion, as in this case," she said.