Delivery Driver Who Saved 5 Kids From Fire Receives Over $400K in Donations

A delivery driver who was injured saving five children from a house fire in Indiana last week has received over $400,000 in donations.

A GoFundMe account that was set up by the delivery driver's cousin has received at least $470,526 in donations as of publication time Wednesday.

"Hi, my name is Richard and I am looking for donations for my cousin, Nick Bostic," the GoFundMe page said. "This kid is the real deal. Sadly he has some injuries and will need help during this recovery...Thank you for your support!"

According to a press release from the Lafayette Police Department, the incident occurred on July 11 at about 12:30 a.m. local time, when officers received reports of a house fire "in the 2200 block of Union Street."

"At approximately 12:36 a.m., a male, who had entered the home prior to emergency personnel arriving, jumped through a window of the second-story house and landed on the ground with the 6-year-old child who had been trapped inside," police said in the press release. "The male, later identified as 25-year-old Nicholas Bostic of Lafayette, was seriously injured during the incident - suffering from severe smoke inhalation and gravely cutting his right arm. The 6-year-old was miraculously mostly uninjured."

According to local media reports, Bostic is a delivery driver for a local pizzeria and happen to be driving past the house that was on fire.

The Lafayette Police Department said that when Bostic noticed the fire, he put his car in reverse and immediately went to help those inside. Police also posted a video of the incident on Twitter, showing first responders arriving at the scene and speaking briefly with Bostic.

"He couldn't call 911 and didn't want to waste time trying to find someone who could call it in. He knew he had to act," police said.

Prior to rescuing the 6-year-old child from the home, Bostic entered and started to yell to try to find those who were trapped. Police said that Bostic did not immediately hear a response to his yells, so he decided to travel through the house to avoid "taking the chance that someone could still be inside."

While searching throughout the home, Bostic found four children ranging from age from 1 to 18, police said. Bostic helped all four escape from the home.

Bostic then learned that the 6-year-old was still in the house, prompting him to go back in.

"Nicholas Bostic's heroic actions saved lives. His selflessness during the incident is inspiring, and he has impressed many with his courage, tenacity, and steadfast calmness in the face of such perilous danger," police said. "The Lafayette Police Department, the Lafayette Fire Department, and the Honorable Mayor Tony Roswarski are eternally grateful for Nicholas's intervention and would like to publicly recognize him for his actions."

According to police, Bostic is set to be honored at the Lafayette Aviators baseball team's National Night Out event on August 2.

Newsweek reached out to the Lafayette Police Department for further comment.