PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Eagles star and Super Bowl champion A.J. Brown visited a 10-year-old boy who shielded his sister when an air ambulance crashed in Philadelphia last month, resulting in seven dead and 24 injured.
Andre “Trey” Howard III underwent emergency brain surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to remove a piece of metal debris lodged in his head. His father, Andre Howard, said their family was driving to get their weekly Friday afternoon treat when the Jet Rescue Air Ambulance crashed near a mall in northeast Philadelphia on Jan. 31. Trey was hit in the head with metal while in his family’s car near the scene of the crash.
When Trey woke up from his surgery, his family said he had two questions: Did he save his sister? And did he miss the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl game?
Brown, one of the NFL’s biggest stars, caught news of Trey’s heroism and posted a Tweet days before the Super Bowl recognizing the young Eagles fan.
“Speedy recovery! You are a Hero young man!,” Brown wrote in a Tweet Feb. 4. “I’m going to come see you when I get back. Hopefully with some hardware. Playing for you on Sunday my man.”
Days after the Eagles defeated the Chiefs to win Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, Howard said he received a call from the hospital telling the family to expect a visitor in the morning. It was Brown, and he brought the Lombardi Trophy – awarded to each year’s Super Bowl winning team – along with him.
Trey’s mother, Lala Sayon Hamiel, posted photos of her son with Brown and thanked the NFL star for keeping his word. She also mentioned that Brown called his teammate, star running back Saquon Barkley, to chat with Trey, too.
“Thank you for being a man of your word. By great surprise on this day my son was beyond grateful to meet you. Caught us all by surprise,“ she wrote. ”For Someone “(ANDRE)” my son who usually talk so much, you had him smiling from ear to ear and Mute. I felt his heart pounding through his chest. The amount of love and support you gave being so patience and calling Saquon Barkley for him was beyond appreciated. Thank you for everything and bringing that WIN home for “TRE” the world’s greatest SUPERHERO. From my family to yours I so humbly want to say thank you and we love you and hope and want nothing but the best for yours!!!!”
Howard said Trey was a “centimeter” from death after the plane crash, and doctors feared he could become paraplegic due to his injuries. However, Howard said Brown’s visit gave Trey extra energy and motivation to get through physical therapy.
“You would have thought he was back to normal,” Howard said, per NBC News. “They gave him an extra boost of energy … ‘Wow, you’re already going fast now, and we’re pretty much jogging on the treadmill now?’
“Just with my son walking, being able to have a conversation with A.J. Brown. These are things that I look at as a dad … these are iconic moments,” he added.