Tyler Armagan added that the five teens just “wanted to be sure they were alright and that they didn’t have hypothermia.”
Drew Salice explained, “We hope anyone else would do the exact same thing that we did.”
The five teens explained they took the kids by the hands to their parents, Stephanie Irlbeck and Rich Heid. In a private Facebook group for Middletown, New Jersey, Stephanie Irlbeck explained how relieved she was when the New Jersey teens saved her children. She called them heroes and recognized how humble they were despite their heroic actions. She said, “Not only did they stop a potentially catastrophic situation, they didn’t even want anything in return.”
“They were trying to calm both of my kids down, you can imagine how scared they were,” the mom of the 4-year-old and 8-year-old kids who sledded into the lake said. “Thank you. THANK YOU for having such AMAZING KIDS,” she directed toward the five teens’ parents.
Apparently, the New Jersey teens saved the children with some background knowledge of what to do. Two of the teens, Kiernan Foley and Drew Salice are in Boy Scouts. Kiernan explained that he did draw on some of his Boy Scouts knowledge to help save the children, and part of it was just instinctual.
Kids Who Kare gave each of the boys a cash reward for their heroic actions, and they all were surprised and humble in receiving it.