‘Hero’ 8-year-old calls 911 after his dad passed out behind the wheel in Kennewick

An 8-year-old was left to call 911 after his father passed out behind the wheel on a busy Kennewick street.

The boy was in the car on the 600 block of Columbia Center Boulevard when his father passed out Monday morning, according to a Kennewick police Facebook post. The boy wasn’t able to wake him, so he used a cellphone to call 911.

When officers and firefighters arrived, they found the man unconscious in the car. They also spotted drug paraphernalia in the car.

Firefighters used Naloxone to revive the man. Naloxone is used to treat people who are suffering from an opioid overdose.

He was taken to a local hospital and then booked into the Benton County jail on two counts of reckless endangerment.

Police did not release the man’s name, but Chase J. Russell, 36, was booked into the jail on the same charges Monday afternoon.

Police called the 8-year-old a hero.

Child Protective Services took the boy and his 9-year-old brother into protective custody after police bought them lunch, clean clothes and shoes using the Kennewick Police Department’s Community Care Fund.