Police in Ohio are extolling the actions of an 8-year-old boy, who saved his 10-year-old sister from an alleged kidnapping attempt by escaping from a moving car with her.

“This little guy is a hero. No question,” Middletown Division of Police Chief Rodney Muterspaw said in news release on the department’s Facebook page.“He pulled his sister out of the car with no concern for his own safety. That is incredible at his age.”

The incident occurred Thursday while the children’s grandmother, Nita Coburn, 69, was helping another woman into the emergency room after driving her to the hospital. The children were left in the back seat for about 10 seconds when a man allegedly jumped into the driver’s seat and began to drive off.

As the car left the hospital, the 8-year-old boy opened the rear door to escape. When his sister tried to jump out, the man, Dalvir Singh, 24, allegedly grabbed her hoodie to try and keep her from escaping. But the boy was determined to save her.

“As she tried to get away her little brother grabbed hold of her and pulled her away from the kidnapper and they both tumbled out of the vehicle as it was moving,” the news release states.

Dalvir SinghMiddletown Division of Police

While the children escaped, Coburn was chasing after the vehicle on foot on the driver’s side. She was unable to see that her grandchildren had gotten away because they fell out off the passenger’s side.

Coburn managed to open the passenger door to get into the vehicle but Singh allegedly slammed it shut and locked the door. But Coburn didn’t let go. Instead, she hung onto the vehicle, which dragged her until Singh accelerated, forcing the woman to let go.

Police officers spotted the vehicle fleeing the scene and stopped Singh. He was taken into custody and charged with two counts of kidnapping, felonious assault and grand theft.

Attorney information was not available for him Monday and it was not immediately clear if he has entered a plea to the charges against him.

The police department said they plan to formally honor the boy’s heroic response.