Justin was spending the night with his aunt, 22-year-old Alexandra Mitchell, in January when Mitchell "suddenly fell asleep," as the first-grader described it. He told local TV station KPLR that he became scared when he was unable to wake her up.
The boy first called his mom -- he had her cell phone number memorized -- but was unable to reach her. He then called 911 as his mother had taught him.
"They said don't hang up," he told KPLR. "They said, 'What's her name? What's my name? How old I am? How old is she?' "
Nicole Kastanis, Justin's mother, had instructed the boy about what to do in an emergency, early and often.
"Obviously at 3, he didn't get it," Kastanis told KPLR. "But every time we got a new cell phone or anything, we would teach him how to use that phone, just so he would be prepared."
Justin's aunt received the help she needed, and the boy was nominated to receive a hero's reward by his teacher.
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