Rocco Regalbuto correctly gave the 911 dispatcher details such as his mother’s age and their home address and stayed on the line.
The word “hero” was thrown about several times at the latest meeting of the Burlington County Freeholders.
During the meeting, the freeholders honored 7-year-old Marlton resident Rocco Regalbuto for his actions on March 3 when he knew to call 911 after he saw his mother Danielle Regalbuto. suffering from a medical emergency.
As Rocco’s mother was getting him ready for school that morning while the two were alone at home, she suddenly collapsed and started struggling to breathe.
Despite the tense situation, freeholders say Rocco stayed calm and used his mother’s phone to call 911.
Rocco then correctly gave the dispatcher important details such as his mother’s age and their home address, while also staying on the line until local police and fire personnel arrived so Rocco could let them into the house.
“At such a young age, it is impressive that Rocco was able to recognize that his mother was suffering from a medical emergency and that he rose to occasion and he knew to call 911,” said Burlington County Freeholder Ryan Peters, who is actually Rocco’s cousin but describes himself as his uncle.
With Rocco’s mother quickly back home and recovering after the incident, emergency personnel said Rocco’s actions helped prevent an event that might have ended in tragedy.
While reading a proclamation in Rocco’s honor, Peters said the incident also highlights the importance of families discussing emergency plans with their youngest members and ensuring every family member knows how to dial 911 in an emergency.
“Rocco is a shining example of how heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary,” Peters said.
Although Danielle was not at the meeting, Rocco’s father Jay Regalbuto said she has been doing “much better” since Rocco was forced to call 911 and praised Rocco for being able to handle the situation.
“It was something that was a bad situation, and he kept so cool and calm,” Regalbuto said. “Just that he’s getting so many accolades and honors for it is just awesome.”
Regalbuto said while the scope of Rocco’s actions didn’t register with him in the heat of the moment, the family has since received calls from multiple news outlets and highlights from emergency personnel.
“I just expect it from him because that’s just how he is,” Regalbuto said. “He’s just really smart kid. I’m not surprised at all.”
Wade Stein, the 911 dispatcher who answered Rocco’s call on March 3, was also honored at the meeting and said he had not been in a situation before where someone so young knew what as quickly as Rocco did.
“He knew his address. Especially calling from a cellphone it makes it sometimes a little difficult to pinpoint their location, but he knew it right off the bat, and we were good to go,” Stein said.
For his part, Rocco said it was exciting to be honored at the meeting, where he also received a shirt with his name on it from of the Burlington County Central Communications dispatch services.
“Thank you like a million times,” Rocco said.
