LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kyla, 16, and Rylin, 15, Vanvickle are like most teenage siblings. They play video games together, drive each other crazy and miss each other when they are apart.
What You Need To Know
- Rylin was working on a Jeep with his stepfather when it went up in flames
- He went under the truck to pull his stepfather to safety
- His sister, Kyla, put the fire out before fire crews arrived
- Rylin has a long road to recovery and months of physical therapy ahead of him
Aug. 26 started like any other day. Rylin and his stepfather Roy Carroll were working on Carroll’s Jeep when something no one expected happened.
When Kyla heard screaming outside over the roaring of the engine they were working on, she knew something was wrong and ran outside.
“I came outside and the vehicle was on fire,” said Kyla. “My mind was just blown.”
Even more shocking than seeing flames under the Jeep was seeing her brother going back under the flaming truck to pull his stepdad away.
“Whenever he was underneath the fire, it got his head, his face, his arms and a little bit of his neck. He inhaled the fire and the smoke and everything,” said Kyla.
Just like her brother, Kyla sprang into action, grabbing their water hose and borrowing the neighbor's to put the fire out.
“I saw him on fire, and after I rolled out and I went over and patted him down, make sure he got out. Then I put myself out,” said Carroll. “She came along with a water hose and she told me get back and I listened to her. She's like my hero.”
Rylin was life-flighted to Norton’s Children’s Hospital in Louisville to be treated for the second-degree burns he suffered when he went back under the truck.
“Gas dropped on my brother's head that we think because it got him worse,” said Kyla.
Roy said the fuel pump sparked the fire under the Jeep that was only feet from a tank of propane.
“My babies were in the house, and if she didn’t get it out then we all could have been dead,” said Carroll.
Rylin was released from the hospital after five days.
It will take months for his burns to heal, and he’ll need physical therapy to regain full use of his arms and fingers.
“For the most part, he's doing better. He can see now, he's on his phone watching TikTok. Yesterday he was playing monopoly with dad and them for hours,” said Kyla.
Rylin is happy to be back home, annoying his sister again.
His community showered him with support through cards and gifts praising him for his selfless act.
Team Rylin car decals are being sold to cover travel expenses to and from doctor's appointments in Louisville.