Boy who protected sister from Philadelphia plane crash debris is making ‘miraculous’ recovery

Doctors warned Trey Howard’s family he might not survive his injuries, but the 10-year-old boy improved every day, and is excited to see his beloved Eagles in the Super Bowl.

PHILADELPHIA — A 10-year-old boy has been making a “miraculous” recovery after protecting his younger sister from the flying debris of a medical transport plane that crashed in Philadelphia last week, his family said.

“Daddy, did I save my sister?” was one of the first things Trey Howard asked his father after he woke up following emergency brain surgery, Andre Howard Jr. said. He had gone out for donuts with three of his kids when the plane crashed in Northeast Philadelphia Friday night, he said.

“It sounded like a missile was firing bullets, metal at my car, everyone else’s car,” Andre Howard told WPVI-TV in Philadelphia. Howard said he immediately backed up his car while his son covered his sister and told her, “Get down!” Trey grabbed his sister and Howard heard the glass shatter, he said.

“I turn around — there’s a piece of metal sticking out of my son’s head from the plane,” Howard said.

Andre Howard said he used socks and another man provided his shirt in an attempt to stop the bleeding on the boy’s head. A police officer rushed them to the hospital. Doctors warned the family he might not survive his injuries, but he has improved every day.

He woke from surgery and almost immediately asked about his sister — after his father assured him that he hadn’t missed the Super Bowl game between his favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Kansas City Chiefs, Howard said.

The crash Friday evening killed all six people on the Learjet 55 air ambulance, including a girl who had been receiving medical treatment at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia hospital. Steven Dreuitt, 37, of Philadelphia, who was found inside a vehicle that was traveling near the crash, was also killed, while 24 other people on the ground were injured. City police announced Wednesday that Dreuitt’s remains had been identified by the city’s Medical Examiner’s Office.

Officials have repeatedly said the number of casualties may change as the investigation continues.